


The Mask of Despair and the Face of Hope

by WingsOfBlackGlass



Category: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-06-01
Packaged: 2019-05-28 14:12:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 111,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15050888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WingsOfBlackGlass/pseuds/WingsOfBlackGlass
Summary: The crisis is over, the threat resolved, the day is saved. Or rather, there was never a crisis to begin with. Twilight Sparkle has saved the world, there is nothing left to do but tell the others what just happened. She has quite the story to tell, of memories only she has, of months that never happened, of the despair that nearly ended Equestria, and the hope that saved it.In Equestria, Destiny is a very real thing. Everypony has one, emblazoned with a magic mark for all to see. It is a simple given fact that every pony finds their place in time, their own special destiny. Or is that law so immutable after all? Is being special always a good thing? In a society where destiny is real, what happens to the individual without one?At the heart of Twilight’s story is a single pony with a unique mark. The choices he made to try and fit in with the world have left him alone and miserable, and willing to go to insane lengths to find his place. When a chance meeting with Twilight gives him a chance he never thought he would have, his decisions come to have consequences far beyond what he could have imagined.Maybe, just maybe, in the story of our lives we are not always the hero. Sometimes, we are the villain.





	1. Unique Destiny

I tumble through the conduit of light and color, alone. It’s hard to see past all the magic; I can’t tell where I am going. Images, moments, points in my life flash around me. There is a bright point ahead, and I’m falling towards it. I need to be there, right now, it's the moment where it all began, those months ago. The point of bright light resolves into a purple pony, with two wings on its back and a magical horn on its brow. Her mane is dark, not quite black, with a streak of magenta. It’s an Alicorn; it’s Twilight Sparkle. It’s me.

I collide with the bright point in my life, and I blink. I’m standing in the map room of the Castle of Friendship. For just an instant I glance back at my wings, spread wide, and then at my flank, where my cutie-mark rests. Strength rushes through my body and my mind, I kick my left leg and can feel my magic at the ready. Everything is as it should be.

“It worked. You did it.” I whisper it aloud. And then I stand upright to face the situation before me, determined. There is a single other pony in the room. Upon the center of the magical table, he stands, facing away from me. A red magic aura flashes around him.

“You got back even faster than I expected.” He is surprisingly calm, his voice measured and steady. He’s wearing a long black coat which obscures most of his body. What I can see of him is a darker shade of purple than my own. His mane is midnight black and shot through with a streak of neon blue I know matches his eyes. Power, a static charge, builds in the air as he gathers the magic around his unicorn horn to cast the spell. I have to stop him; he doesn’t know the consequences.

“I’m giving you one chance! Stop this now, or I will stop you myself!”

“I can’t stop! Not after everything I’ve sacrificed!” I knew he would say that or something like it. I gave him his one chance. Smashing aside a barrier erected specifically to distract me, I leap onto the table. Lightning jumps from the map and the floor and the very air to strike me, but I shield myself and power through it. “No! Get back!” I tackle into him, bodily tossing him off the map. We spill onto the floor; I manage to land standing. His control over the magic wavers, but he maintains focus.

This cannot stand. I focus my own power, mixing my magic with his and the magic of the map. The spell fights back, trying to push me away. I grit my teeth, and for a moment the two of us struggle over possession of the spell. He screams at me, picking himself off the floor. There is a tremendous force behind his magic, a power he stole, which he cannot control for long. Soon it will control him. Whatever it takes, I grimace.

My hoof slams into his side, hard, as I kick him. Something shatters like glass, the crack mixing in the air with all the lights and flashes of the magic at work. The sudden shock to his body breaks all his control. He loses focus, the magic abandoning him as I tear control over the spell away from him.

“No!” He screams again, in anguish. In a moment his focus will return, and he will try to take the magic from me again. Already I am dismantling the spell; he can’t be allowed to get it back under his control. All this power has to go somewhere. Best to get rid of it before something terrible happens. The unraveling threads of power erupt in a flash, the explosion throwing both of us to the floor. The shockwave flings open all the windows, the crystals on the chandelier above clink and sway. “No, not again!” There is so much pain in his voice.

I glance over at him as I pick myself up. One hoof is raised, reaching out towards the empty space over the map where the spell had been gathering power. His expression is one of loss and pain, and tears roll unchecked down his face. They fall upon the object on his chest. It’s a silver medallion, largely triangular, with a large red diamond at its center, a unicorn head and two pegasus wings adorn the top edge. It’s the Alicorn Amulet.

“I can try again. I can still…”

“Enough!” I step in front of him, slamming a hoof down hard on the floor. “If you try it again, I will have to stop you.” His eyes meet mine, sorrow and heartbreak before they look away. “I’m sorry.” He reaches up to his chest, feeling the Amulet there. “Take it off.” My voice is at its most commanding. He looks down at the Amulet, clenching his teeth. “Take. It. Off.” Visibly he wavers, looking at me and then at the map.

“You don’t know what you’ve done.” He seethes, but is unable to meet me face to face. Then he tears the Amulet from his chest and hurls it against the table. “Fine, take it. You’ve taken everything else.” The sheer hate in his voice sends a shudder down my spine. Just in case he changes his mind, I stand between him and the Amulet as he slowly gets back to his feet. From his defeated expression I can tell now that he will make no further attempt at the Amulet or the map.

“It’s over. At last, it's really over.” I have to let out a heavy sigh, and I fold my wings, trying to release my tension. Another pony enters the room, stumbling slightly. The newcomer is another unicorn, Starlight Glimmer, so light purple she is almost pink, and with a violet mane.

“You stopped him?” Starlight stands beside me, staring venomously at the dark purple stallion. I nod. “Good. Now, what do we do with him?” I consider for a moment. I hadn’t thought this far ahead yet.

“You can go.” I direct it towards the unicorn stallion. He blinks in astonishment, an expression matched by Starlight.

“You do know what he just did, don’t you?”

“I know exactly what happened.” Better than either of them would know.

“You’re letting me go?” He doesn’t believe it. I nod towards him. “Why?”

“Go. Just go.” Unable to meet him eye to eye; I try to sound stern. With one wing, I point to the exit. The unicorn in the black coat stares at me for a moment and then heads away with his head hanging low. Immediately after he makes it outside I hear what sounds like a thunderbolt, the dark purple stallion teleporting away.

“Twilight, what are you doing?!”

“I’ll explain when the others get here. It should only be a minute more.”

“What do you mean? What’s going on?” I only shake my head and collect the Alicorn Amulet from the floor, placing it on the map table in the space before my chair. The answers will come, shortly. It’s only a few moments later when a blue pegasus with a rainbow mane zips into the room, she stops and hovers right above the map.

“Twilight! What’s wrong?! The door is pulled right off the castle!” Rainbow Dash glances about the room, searching for a threat that isn’t there anymore.

“Calm down, Dash. Everything is under control. Applejack and the others will be here momentarily.”

“What in tarnation is going on!” I am proved correct when the orange pony with yellow mane charges into the map room. Following her are three more ponies and a little dragon. A white unicorn with purple mane, Rarity. A pink pony with frothy red mane, Pinkie Pie. A yellow pegasus with a long pink mane, Fluttershy. Last, holding onto his head in mild pain, the small purple and green dragon, Spike. When I see them all before me, I can’t stop herself, and nearly break down in tears.

“It is so good to see you all!” I draw them all in close, pulling them into arm’s reach via magic. “I’m so glad you’re all OK!”

“We’re fine, Twilight. Why wouldn’t we be?” I ignore Rarity’s question, hanging onto them all for dear life. I hiccup once as I catch my breath.

“Do you mind letting us go?” Dash is the first one to complain. “I mean, it’s great to see you too, but we just saw each other the other day.”

“It's been so much longer for me.”

“Um, I don’t understand?” Fluttershy speaks softly. At last, I let them all go and then go to my chair at the table.

“Alright. I’ll try to explain. Everypony take a seat.” Each pony goes to their seat, a crystal throne with the cutie-mark of the pony it belongs to etched on it. Starlight stands at my side; she doesn’t have a dedicated chair for herself.

“Is that the Alicorn Amulet!?” Pinkie Pie spots it first. I set a hoof on it to reassure everpony it was no threat.

“Yes.” They all gasp, aware of its risks and power. “You don’t need to worry. The crisis is over.” I pause, trying to collect my thoughts. “This is going to sound really strange. But for me, this is several months in the past.” They all stare at me in confusion and disbelief; all of them except Starlight, who gasps again.

“You used time travel?! That… that’s insane! Why would you risk something so dangerous?”

“It wasn’t my first choice to come back this far, but there was no other option.” I have to stop for a moment to wipe away a tear. “Have I got a story to tell you!"  I pause for a moment to gather my thoughts.  "Some of you know part of what I’m about to say. But I’m going to start at the beginning so that everyone knows it all. It all started, some months ago… wait, no. It wasn’t all that long ago from your point of view. A week ago, maybe a little more, I think? Anyway, Spike and I were in town one morning…”

* * *

 “Twilight! Spike!” I looked up from my breakfast at the cafe and saw Pinkie Pie waving at us. We waved back, and she came over outright bouncing with each step.

“Pinkie, good morning. Would you care to join us?” I nibbled on my salad.

“Sure!” She joined us at the table, ordering an orange juice.

“So, what are you up to this morning?”

“I was looking for something interesting.” She downed her drink quickly when it arrived.

“You could be a little more specific.” Spike rolls his eyes.

“No, I couldn’t.” I blinked in mild confusion. “My Pinkie sense was telling me I would run into something interesting.” That explained it.

“Have you found it yet?”

“You two could count.” She giggled, and I smiled. “But no, nothing yet. I passed by Carousel Boutique earlier, and it was closed. Do you know where Rarity is?”

“She and Fluttershy were sent to Manehatten yesterday by the map.”

“Applejack?”

“Off in Appleoosa.”

“Rainbow Dash?”

“Off at practice with the Wonderbolts, you know that.”

“Oh right.” She stuck out her tongue and tapped her head. “Pinkie Pie?”

“…That’s you.” Spike deadpanned, and Pinkie giggled as I facehoofed. We spent a few more minutes talking about the goings on around town, and our plans for the days ahead when suddenly Pinkie shivered and twitched.

“There goes my Pinkie sense again. I should get going so I can find this interesting something.”

“All right, we’ll see you later.” I waved as she bounded away around the corner. “Well, Spike, we should get back to the Castle.” I had barely looked away when I heard her shout in surprise and something like glass shattered. “Pinkie, are you alright.” I jumped around the corner to see if she was hurt. Splayed out on the ground in front of me was stunned-looking Pinkie Pie and an unfamiliar black pony tangled together where they had collided. A bunch of pears from a dropped bag rolled away from them. I didn’t see any broken glass; I wasn’t sure what it was I heard, but I thought I saw a shimmer in the air which reminded me of the afterimage of a broken spell.

“Woo, I’m OK!” Pinkie leaped back to her feet. “Looks like I was being literal!” Then she giggled and laughed. I turned my attention to the unfortunate pony on the ground while Spike started picking up the spilled fruit. I thought the stallion was black, in truth, he was a purple unicorn, his color a few shades darker than mine. It turned out he was actually wearing a long black coat that reached all the way to his hooves, I thought it was an odd choice considering how fine the weather was.

“Of course…” He blinked, shaking off the daze of the impact and glared up at Pinkie. “It would be you.” The stallion sighed as he picked himself up off the dirt, stumbling slightly when he put weight on his right foreleg. He glared down at his hoof and frowned, but didn’t seem seriously injured. Once he was standing, I could see his mane was almost midnight black and shot through with a streak of neon blue.

“Are you hurt?” He turned his eyes to me; they shared their shade with the streak of blue in his mane. His gaze dropped away after only an instant, he didn’t seem willing to meet me eye to eye.

“Only my pride, and my pears.” One by one he began to lift the pears from the ground and returned them to his bag, his magic aura glows the same blue as his eyes.

“I’m Twilight…” I was about to finish introducing myself when he interrupted me.

“I know who you are.” He didn’t seem at all impressed, which I thought was a bit unusual.

“Sorry about that meet-cute.” Pinkie piped up, extending out a hoof in apology. The purple unicorn in the black coat only grumbled wordlessly and turned away, refusing to meet the proffered hoof and snatching the last of his fruit from Spike’s outstretched hands. “Bye then.” Pinkie Pie waved after the slowly retreating pony, and I noticed that he doesn’t hold his head as high as most others. I could tell he kept his eyes down to the road.

“Well that was rude, he wouldn’t even accept your apology!” Spike frowned, hands on his hips.

“That's OK.” Pinkie beat the side of her head, shaking a bit more dust from her mane. “He’s just like that.”

“You know him?” I returned my attention to Pinkie as the stallion wandered away.

“Nope. Not really.” She giggled again. “But I’ve bumped into him a few times.”

“I thought you know everypony who lived in Ponyville?” Spike raised an inquisitive eyebrow towards her.

“I do.” Pinkie jumped a bit as she protested, and I spotted some books on the ground behind her. “He doesn’t count.” I picked them off the ground as Pinkie continued, cleaning dust and dirt off the covers, books shouldn’t be treated so shamefully.

“Of course he does, you can’t just pick and choose who counts.” I glanced at the titles; an old spellbook containing spells I long ago mastered, a science fiction novel, and a gardening guide. “Do you think he dropped these?” I held them up for Pinkie to see.

“Maybe, I think so?”

“We should really return them to him.” Suggested Spike. I turned back to chase after the unicorn but didn’t see him anymore. I trotted off in the direction he was going, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“Did either of you see which way he went?”

“No, sorry.” Spike shrugged.

“Well, I know where he lives, we can drop them off before I head back to the shop.”

“Oh? I thought you didn’t know him?” I tilted my head a bit, mildly confused.

“He’s got a little house just on the outermost edge of the Everfree forest, outside town limits. So he doesn’t count.”

“That’s a technicality. And you know this how?” I affixed a curious eye on my pink friend.

“I may have followed him home once by accident.” Pinkie had the decency to look a little sheepish as she answered.

“How did you manage to follow someone by accident?” Wondered Spike, scratching his head again.

“The first time I ran into him, or maybe the second? Third? Anyway, I was trying to get him to talk to me all the way there until he shut the door in my face.” She giggled again. “Gave me splinters. I looked around, and there I was. I can show you where it is if you want.”

“My schedule is light today. I’m in no hurry to get back.” I gestured for her to show us the way. “Lead on.”

* * *

  _“Oh yeah, I remember that!”_

_"Pinkie, don’t interrupt her.”_

_“That’s alright. I imagine you’ll have lots of questions after I get past the early parts. I’ll try to explain if something is confusing.”_

* * *

“We’re here!” Pinkie gestured to the hill and willow in front of us. I blinked and looked around, there was a lonely mailbox here, but no house I could see.

“Uh, really?” Spike was just as confused as I was.

“Yup.” She followed a small dirt path through the grass which goes past the willow. After she passes the tree she sticks her head back around the veil of leaves. “Come on.” Spike and I hurry to join her. Only now could I see the small house settled behind the hill, well hidden from afar by the tree out front.

The house by the edge of the Everfree forest was a little one indeed. It was a squat square with drab brown walls and a roof made of plain ceramic tiles. Something about it seemed off to me, as if it were tilted to one side. The whole thing looked a little sad. The two front windows were shuttered, but the front door was wide open.

“Oh, he must be home already.” Pinkie didn’t wait for me to catch up and bounded for the inviting doorway.

“Pinkie, wait! It’s not polite to just rush on in without an invitation!” She ignored Spike’s outburst and headed in without us. I sighed and hurried over to join her with Spike following.

“Hello, is anyone here?” I called out as I entered the little house. If anything, it looked smaller and even sadder inside. The walls of the single central room aren’t painted, being just bare wood. An ugly old stove and sink full of dishes in one corner, a tiny pantry next to that, and an old bed in the opposite corner. A plain circular rug was the only covering for the wooden slats of the floor, with a low table over its center. There was a single open window on the back wall, through which I could see a pond behind the house. Flanking the window were several shelves covered in an assortment of curiosities. There was almost nothing in the way of luxuries or comforts.

“Excuse us, GAH!” Spike gasped in sudden fright as he entered, closing the door behind him by reflex. I turned to see a faintly pony shaped mass of shadows behind the doorway, where it would have been invisible from outside. I flung open the front windows to let more light in, but the figure didn’t not move, and I realized what it is.

“It just a mannequin.” Exactly like one of many Rarity uses to make outfits. Spike sighed in relief. “Why would he even have one?” Spike shruged, unable to answer my question.

“I guess he’s not here.” Pinkie looked around at the various curiosities, and for a moment so did I. A single clock on the wall above the sink told the wrong time and remained still and silent, it wasn’t running. On one of the shelves a small battalion of mostly unpainted toy pony soldiers stood at the ready, in formation. Next to the soldiers sat a ceramic bowl with blue enamel and a crack running down its side. A small collection of ragged books cluttered the shelves on the other side of the window from the toys; I spied a copy of Astronomical Astronomer’s Almanac to All Things Astronomy among the tomes. There were a few other nicknacks scattered about the shelves. Above the bed was a half-finished quilt, hung like a tapestry on the wall.

Something glinted on top of the highest shelf, and my curiosity got the better me. I lifted it down from its perch to take a better look. The object was a silver mask covered in dust, large enough to cover the front of a pony’s face, with a hole for a unicorn’s horn on its forehead. A pattern of lightning bolts across the surface culminated with two such bolts intertwining around where the horn would be. The left eye was closed, and the right eye socket was damaged, as if its eye had been torn out, the edges around the break seemed pretty sharp. My curiosity sated, I placed the mask back on the shelf where I found it.

“I’ll just leave these here.” I put the recovered books down on the table and looked over at Pinkie, toying with one of the painted soldiers. “We should really go.” Pinkie started to salute with a soldier in her hoof and froze when a shadow’s silhouette crossed the window. I looked back, but could only see the shadow on the floor, the pony casting it was outside, between the door and the window. Everypony stood stock still, not wanting to get caught trespassing. Two envelopes slid in under the door and the silhouette sprouted a pair of wings before jumping into the air, disappearing out of view.

“Phew, it was just the mailpony.” Spike let out a held breath. Pinkie set the soldier back on the shelf. Something about the incident bothered me.

“Wasn’t there a mailbox?” I thought I saw one outside. No one had a chance to answer me before the air was split by a crack of thunder and flash of lightning from the back of the room. Pinkie jumped like stung, Spike screamed, I spun to face the source of the spell. I saw a dark pony with black wings spread wide and lightning springing from their eyes, hooves spread wide and ready to fight. Magic energy sparked from a unicorn horn lowered towards us in an attack stance. I thought it was an Alicorn!

Before I could respond to this threat the next spell was cast and twin bolts of energy lanced out, just to each side of me and Pinkie, hurtling the table and books to the wall. Slowly the figure advanced on us, the bright blue beams hemming us in and forcing us to back away. The beams began to converge, and Pinkie pie was struck. She screamed as she was thrown towards the door. I snarled, injuring her was more than I was willing to let slide.

“That’s…” With the first word I threw up a shield before us. “Enough!” With the second launched the barrier forward towards the attacking pony. Where my projected barrier hit the beams, thunder and lightning cracked again as the spells clashed. The dark pony was flung backward, smashing into the wall. Something like glass shattered as the attacker gasped in pain. The beams vanished, and it took an instant for my eyes to readjust to the relative dimness in the little house. Beneath the shelves lay the dark purple unicorn from earlier, cloaked by his long black coat and suddenly devoid of wings, now I wasn’t sure I had seen them at all. He seemed too stunned to do anything threatening. “Are you both alright?” I didn’t deviate my gaze from the defeated pony, more than a little surprised it was so easy to overpower him; if he was an Alicorn he should have put up more of a fight.

“Woo, I’m OK!” Came from pinkie, clambering to her feet.

“Yeah, I’m not hurt.” Spike coughed a little but seemed otherwise unhurt. The purple pony on the floor started to gather himself.

“What was that about?” I demanded he answer, and he glared up at me. From this distance I could see his coat was old and somewhat ratty.

“I left the path to the door open. You could have just left.” With some effort he stood, bashing his head against the lowest shelf and grimacing anew. The toy soldier Pinkie had been toying with fell to the floor, breaking off its right foreleg. He glanced down at it seemingly stoically, but I saw his eyes twinging slightly with irritation. “I’m not the one who has to explain.”

“Huh?” He pointed an angry hoof at Pinkie.

“I’m not the one breaking and entering.” A short moment of silence passed. “This is my home. The way I see it, I was defending myself.” Pinkie Pie started to say something, and somehow I knew she was just going to make things worse.

“Alright, alright. Everypony can calm down. No one is going to attack anyone else anymore. We can talk this out like rational ponies.” I took command, speaking firmly but without anger. Pinkie shut her mouth with an audible snap, and the dark pony seethed for a few deep breaths more before visibly relaxing out of his fighting stance.

“Very well.” He was clearly still vexed with us but made no aggressive moves. “Still, I insist you explain yourselves.” He turned his gaze from Pinkie to me. “Her behavior does not surprise me, but I would have thought trespassing was beneath the venerable Princess of Friendship.” There was no hiding the sarcasm in that last bit.

“Actually, we were returning some books you dropped earlier.” I lifted the tomes momentarily from where they fell so that he could see them more easily. “And the door was open.” His eyes narrowed and he glanced in annoyance at the doorway. “We just leaving when you showed up.”

“That explains why I couldn’t find them.” He lifted the soldier and its amputation from the ground, examining the damage. “Apology accepted.” It did not escape me that I had not, in fact, apologized yet. He righted the table and books, set the injured toy down and then gestured around the room. “Thank you for bringing me my books. Welcome to my hovel.”

“A hovel?” I almost laughed, almost. “That seems a bit excessive. It's not that bad.”

“The roof leaks when it rains.” He sighed and glanced around. “The door doesn’t latch properly. The foundation is cracking, and the entire building sags to the east.” He paused and returned his eyes towards us. “It’s a hovel.” Pinkie Pie stifled a giggle. “Now if you would, please leave.” He seemed to have to concentrate past his annoyance to be even that polite and stood a bit more stiffly. The door swung open of his accord, shimmering in his neon blue magic aura. The Unicorn’s eyes turned down from the door to the broken soldier figure. “I have repairs to make.”

“So…” He affixed his narrowing eyes on Pinkie Pie when she spoke. She got the message and said no more before heading out the open doorway. Spike followed closely behind her, mildly leery of the irritated unicorn. Then the dark stallion turned his eyes to me. I nodded, and turned away, shutting the door behind me. It started to swing in on its own and I pulled harder so it would latch properly. The three of us headed away back towards town in silence, but I paused by the mailbox.

“Just a moment.” Spike and Pinkie shared a look as I trotted back to the hovel. His saddlebag full of pears had been dropped by the door, apparently forgotten. I could see the stallion through the window, and knocked on the frame. The dark unicorn looked up from the jar of glue, pulled out from under the pantry, and the toy soldier before him with a curious expression. “Excuse me, but I never got your name.” He mumbled something as he walked over. “I’m sorry, what? I didn’t hear you.” The unicorn inside seemed unable to look me in the eye.

“Sable Stardust.” The window closed between us.

* * *

_“Somepony has a temper.”_

_“That’s what I said, after I met him.”_

_“He is overly defensive, isn’t he?”_

_“Well, we were not exactly… invited in.”_

_“Not very friendly either.”_

_“It all makes sense, considering what we know now…”_

_“Yeah, I guess it does…”_

* * *

 

I didn’t see him again for the next few days, and Rarity and Fluttershy came back from Manehatten. I met them in the map room in the castle of friendship. We were catching up over a pot of tea.

“So everything went well? What was the problem?”

“There was a wedding, and the bride and groom were getting cold hooves.”

“Really now, it wasn’t even that complicated.” Rarity sipped her tea, flipping her hair out of the way. “Everypony involved just needed a good talking to.”

“Oh, yes. They really were not considering each other’s feelings at all.” Fluttershy shook her head disapprovingly. “But everything turned out well in the end.”

“I mean, the hard part was finding them in the first place. Manehatten is a wonderful place, but it’s just far too large to search if you don’t know where to look. Ah well, I was able to check on my boutique while we were there.”

“I take it that means everything is going well there?”

“Quite well, everything in is good order.”

“One of these days the table needs to send me to Manehatten.” I pouted a bit. “It seems everypony else gets to go.”

“Dear, you do know you can just go there yourself whenever you want? If you want to enjoy the sights, you don’t have to wait for the table to send you out on an errand.” I smiled sheepishly at Rarity’s jab, Fluttershy giggled quietly. Someone knocked on the front door, the sound echoing down the hall, pausing our conversation as I looked towards the massive doorway.

“I’ll get it!” Spike called out from elsewhere, rushing through the room and then down the hallway. I heard the hinges groan as he pulled the door open. “Uh, Twilight… I think you have a visitor.” He shouted from the front door, seemingly worried. I shared a quick glance with the other ponies; they appeared just as confused as I was. I set my teacup on the table and walked over, pulling the door open slightly more. Standing out in the open, looking somewhat uncomfortable, was the dark Purple unicorn wearing the ragged old black coat.

“Sable Stardust?” He raised his head slightly, taking several deep breaths to steady himself before speaking.

“I need to apologize.” I didn’t get a chance to respond before he continued. “I was out of line, attacking you three like that.” He rushed through his words, not leaving any time for me to get a word in. “It doesn’t matter if you were trespassing, I shouldn’t have acted so badly.” He bowed his head respectfully. “So… I’m sorry.” For some reason, I hadn’t expected him to apologize at all.

“That's alright. I forgive you. We shouldn’t have gone in without permission, and nopony got hurt.”

“Twilight? Is something the matter?” Rarity called from within.

“No, nothing is wrong, just a moment please.”

“You have guests. I should go.” Sable Stardust turned away without waiting for an answer. He seemed downtrodden, and I got the strange feeling that his apology was more for his own benefit than for mine. As he walked slowly away, I felt a pang of pity for him, realizing that he might be lonely.

“Wait…” He looked back over his shoulder, and I gave him a soft smile. “Please come inside and meet my friends.” He hesitated visibly, glancing away in the direction of his home, his ‘hovel’ he called it. “We can start over, try again.” He grited his teeth, I could see from the doorway, and with a surprising amount of effort for merely turning around lurched towards me.

“I think I would like that.” He spoke calmly; I could almost hear the willpower it took him to just say 'yes.'

“Well then, please come on in.” I pushed the door open a bit more and stood aside, gesturing down the hall towards the table room. Spike looked up at me, curious. I glanced back with an expression I hoped would tell him I would explain later. Slowly, uncertainly even, Stardust stepped inside. I led him back until we stood before the table. “Rarity.” My white unicorn friend flipped her mane aside again and nodded toward him. “Fluttershy.” The yellow pegasus smiled cutely and gently waved with a hoof. “This is Sable Stardust.” I gestured towards him. “Sable Stardust, this is Rarity and Fluttershy.” He nodded to each in turn before taking a seat in Rainbow Dash’s chair, where he could keep them both in view. I sat back in mine, and Spike climbed into his much smaller chair beside mine. For a long moment, there was silence, each expecting the others to speak first.

“Well, Twilight, why don’t you tell us how you two met.” Rarity broke the silence, at least someone said something.

“We only ran into each other for the first time a couple days ago.” I jumped on the conversation starter.

“In a rather literal sense.” Sable Stardust deadpanned.

“What do you mean by that?” Rarity blinked rapidly several times.

“If I said Pinkie Pie was involved, would that explain it?”

“I think I understand.” Fluttershy laughs softly. I could swear I saw him smile, for just an instant.

“I… what?” Rarity looked to me for an explanation.

“We physically bumped into him. Pinkie knocked him over.” Rarity gave an exaggerated sigh as I explained.

“I take it then you are the Rarity who owns the Carousel Boutique?” Stardust took it as his turn to ask a question.

“Yes, I am, as well as another boutique in Manehatten, and a third in Canterlot. ‘Rarity for you’ for whatever fashion needs you have.”

“And I hear you are the veterinarian, correct?” Stardust directed this to Fluttershy.

“Actually, I am the caretaker for the animals, not the veterinarian. I do what I can if some creature needs some help, just first aid. The veterinarian in town is Dr. Fauna.” I let Fluttershy finish, before facing Sable Stardust again.

“So now you know who we are, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself.” He didn’t answer my question immediately; I think he was gathering his thoughts. I suspected he was more introspective than I initially guessed.

“There is not much to say.” That was disappointing, I could tell he was trying to dodge the question.

“Don’t say that, everypony has a story to tell.”

“I keep to myself, I value my privacy.”

“I can understand that.” He shook his head when Rarity said it and whispered something so quietly I couldn’t hear it. Fluttershy did, and glanced my way with some concern. I decided not to press him on it. “What about your hobbies and interests? Your job? Give us something please.”

“My particular skillset is… not in high demand. I don’t have… stable employment.” That helped me understand why he had such a pitiful looking little home, he probably couldn’t afford better.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Fluttershy meant it to be sympathetic, but for some reason Sable Stardust shot her an ugly glance. He held his tongue despite the cruel expression.

“I guess that explains the sorry state of your outfit there.” Rarity waved dismissively towards his coat. “I would be pleased to fix it up for you if you bring it down to the boutique.” He clenched his coat closer around him. “Tell me, Sable Stardust, why do you wear that?” Rarity sized him up quickly, finding something mildly distasteful. “Black on purple on black is all very monochrome.” I was observing his reactions carefully and noticed a tiny flash of annoyance, but it vanished quickly. The expression I had seen was replaced with something quieter as he looked down at his forelegs.

“It keeps me warm.” He answered, at last; I got the sense he was considering his words carefully. He didn’t look up.

“Really, in this weather? Surely…” Stardust’s ears flattened against his head, suddenly defensive.

“Rarity.” Fluttershy interrupted softly, shaking her head slowly, before she turned to face Sable Stardust. “You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.” She had seen the same thing as I did. Sable Stardust nodded towards the pegasus, and I saw the thanks in his expression. Fluttershy blinked several times, gazing at Sable Stardust’s side. “Pardon me, Mr. Stardust, but are you an Alicorn?” The dark purple unicorn looked down at his side, flexing something black against his coat where a pair of wings might be. I did a double-take, rubbing my eyes and checking again. I thought I imagined it the other day.

“Not as such.” Despite what he said, two wings unfolded momentarily, just partially, and resettled against his side. They were the same black color as his coat, making them almost invisible. “They aren’t quite real.”

“How is that possible? You didn’t have wings before.” The dark unicorn looked up to meet my gaze, for an instant anyway.

“You disappoint me Twilight Sparkle. It was you who gave me the idea in the first place.” Both Rarity and Fluttershy looked to me for an answer. I had no idea what he meant.

“I think you might have to explain; I did what now?”

“It was quite a while ago.” He sighed. “I was in town one day when I saw you and your friends passing by, and Rarity was sporting a rather substantial pair of butterfly wings.”

“Oh yes, I remember that quite vividly.” Rarity shuddered. “Those wings almost got me killed. If Rainbow Dash hadn’t caught me…” She trailed off and shuddered again. Spike went to her side and put a claw on her arm. She smiled down at him. “I’m alright.”

“The point being, I knew it was possible to give a unicorn wings. I later overheard someone mention you had cast a spell that did the trick. After that, it was easy to get the spellbook itself.”

“How? I thought I had that book?”

“You are aware that before you moved in that was the public library, yes? I simply waited until you left, and then asked your assistant for the book.” Spike jolted back to attention on his way back to his seat. “It turns out Spike can be profoundly helpful.” Sable Stardust gave the dragon a respectful nod.

“Wait, I don’t remember that.” The little dragon scratched his head as he got back into his chair.

“I think you were… distracted. I copied the spell down and returned the book rather soon; you never missed it.”

“I’m impressed.” I really was. “That's a difficult spell. I personally found it to be more effort than it was worth. It was so draining; I almost didn’t manage to cast it that first time I tried it.”

“It took me six weeks to get it right.” Silence dropped after his admission. Fluttershy coughed uncomfortably.

“If it’s so difficult, why do you do you even bother?” As his only response to Rarity’s question, Sable stood from the seat and opened his wings, holding them high. Only now could I see how different from typical wings they were, these had no feathers but rather long almost rectangular panels with a glass sheen to them. Speckled tiny silver dots scattered across their surface shimmered as he breathed. It was almost like looking at a field of stars reflected on the surface of a lake at midnight.

“Oh my, That is quite pretty.” Fluttershy openly admired the wings. Rarity, on the other hand, dropped her teacup in her dumbstruck awe; I could see her eyes twinkle like when she looks at a particularly fabulous dress or large gemstone. Sable Stardust flapped his wings once and then used one to point towards the yellow pegasus.

“There, that is why I bother.” He folded his glass wings and sat back down. Something didn’t sit right with me; it took me a moment to recall that spell in detail.

“Hold on. That magic only grants butterfly wings, how in Celestia’s name did you manage _that_?” At this Sable Stardust straightened in his seat a bit, sitting a little taller than before.

“I tweaked the spell.” I could hear his pleasure with his accomplishment in his words.

“Tweaked? That's a serious understatement.”

“I spent a long time, months and more, casting and recasting it before I finally got it right. It's the…” He paused here, considering his words carefully. “It’s just something I’m proud of.”

“And rightly so, bravo!” Rarity applauded before she cleaned up her spilled tea.

“They are still quite fragile though. Recently I had to recast it twice in one day.” He glared quickly over at me, and I grimaced, his annoyance with me and Pinkie then made even more sense. “But enough about my wings, feel free to continue your conversation I am sure I interrupted.”

“You can’t seriously expect us to just drop the subject, after a demonstration like that.”

“I can only hope.” Sable Stardust turned his attention to the table before him, taking in the map. “This is a curious table.” His forced attempt to change the subject made it clear he was not going to say any more about his magic trick. I let it pass; I planned to go back and look over that spell again later. Maybe I could ask him about it some other time. There weren’t many unicorns interested magical theory in Ponyville for me to have much of a conversation about it.

“There’s quite the story about it.” Fluttershy took Sable Stardust’s bait, quite intentionally I was sure. “Do you remember when Tirek attacked?”

“That was… hard to forget. I assume there is more to the story?” Together we told him the story of the Tree of Harmony and the magical chest which granted them the power to defeat Tirek. He remained silent throughout the telling.

“When it was all over the magic of harmony created this castle, and this map.” Rarity gestured around at the rest of the castle.

“It wasn’t long before we realized the magic of the map connects to us, through our cutie-marks.” Something in his eyes flared, or was it my imagination? “Sometimes it senses something wrong somewhere out in Equestria, and it calls us here via our cutie-marks. Those it calls go to where it marks, and we strengthen friendships wherever we end up.”

“Very interesting.” He refused to take his eyes off the table. It looked to me like he was examining it carefully.

“Fluttershy and I just returned from Manehatten as a matter of fact, and we were discussing what happened when you arrived.”

“I wonder how it works? Must be powerful magic…” He didn’t seem to have heard Rarity.

“Hey Twilight, I’m back!” The conversation was interrupted by an energetic pegasus flying in through an open window. The blue pegasus with the multi-colored mane and tail flew in dizzying circles around the room at speed, overly excited. “I’ve got this awesome new move to show you!” She was quite impossible to ignore, drawing the unicorn’s attention off the table.

“Rainbow Dash, I presume?” He didn’t even try to keep up with the spiraling flier, addressing the question to me.

“Dash, hold up. You should meet my guest, Sable Stardust.”

“Yeah, hi.” Rainbow Dash spared barely a moment to greet Sable Stardust for the first time. “We were also practicing this new formation you’ve got to see.”

“Rainbow Dash is a member of the Wonderbolts, the stunt flier team.” Fluttershy explained helpfully before he had to ask.

“Dash dear, do slow down. You’re going to hurt yourself again.” It was only at this from Rarity did Rainbow Dash land, sliding to halt on the table.

“Right, right.” Dash glanced around quickly, only then really noticing the new purple unicorn. “I don’t think we’ve met. Stable Starbust right? Good to meet ya.” Sable Stardust stiffened, eyes narrowing. Dash didn’t notice, clearly, but Fluttershy and I did.

“Don’t call me that.” He almost whispered it, and again Rainbow Dash didn’t hear what was said.

“Rainbow Dash, Wonderbolt!” She spread her wings confidently and gestured flamboyantly with a hoof projected into the air.

“Uh, Dash?” Fluttershy tried to get her fellow pegasus’s attention and failed. “Maybe you could…”

“I know it can be daunting to meet a Wonderbolt up close, but please hold your applause. Or don’t, cause I’m awesome.” Dash leaped from the table, landing next to her chair and the unicorn occupying it. “So what can we help you with, Starbust?”

“Do not call me that.” He snapped hard. His voice boomed, amplified by magic, as he slammed a hoof down hard on the floor. Bright lines, like little bolts of lightning, danced away from his hoof and skittered across the stone. He seethed, breathing hard through clenched teeth as the thunder echoed away. Rainbow Dash was stunned into silence, everyone frozen still by the outburst. The moment passed, and Sable Stardust faced each of them in turn, seeing the surprise and a little fear in our faces. Wordlessly he turned to leave. I stood, ready to reprimand him, but to my surprise, it was Fluttershy who reached him first. She stood in his way; he couldn’t seem to look her in the eye, he was letting his head hang low. “I should go. Before I do something else I’ll regret.” The yellow pegasus looked down at him for a moment longer, and then her expression softened and she stepped aside. He paused at the door, seemingly trying to say something. “Twilight Sparkle knows where to find me.” It was all he managed before closing the door softly behind him. I heard another crack like lightning from outside the map room, the same sound as when Sable Stardust teleported back at his hovel, and then silence.

“What was that about?” Rainbow Dash made to go after him, her wings twitching indignantly.

“Don’t bother, Dash, he’s gone. He teleported away.”

“Well, someone has a temper.” Rarity huffed.

“I think you hit a nerve with that one.” Spike pointed at the door.

“Dash, you were pronouncing his name wrong.” Fluttershy came over and stood beside the other pegasus.

“I was?”

“It’s Sable Stardust. Not Starbust.”

“So it was an innocent mistake, he didn’t have to explode.”

“Remember how you felt when the bullies at school called you Rainbow Crash?” Dash cringed, but her wings relaxed. “I think he has a history with that name.”

“Don’t worry about it.” I sighed. “I’ll have a talk with him, later. Now you said you had a new move to show me?” Rainbow Dash grinned anew and prepared to leap back into the air. “But, outside please.”

* * *

 

_“I sort of feel like we already know this all.”_

_“It was only a few days ago.”_

_“Well, I wasn’t there! I want to know what’s going on too.”_

_“I'm including pretty much everything I think is relevant to the story of what happened. That way no one gets left behind.”_

* * *

The next day I was walking home after dinner with Applejack and her family. Spike and I spent longer than we intended there, and it was already past sundown. The night was still quite pleasant, the air crisp and the breeze gentle. Spike had fallen asleep and was snoozing on my back. Everypony else had gone home for the night so the way back to the castle was clear. I decided to take a detour through the park to enjoy the stars. That was when I spotted another pony out in the dark, in the moonlight they seemed to be little more than a black shadow on a nearby hilltop. My curiosity compelled me to see who it was, and I gently set Spike down before approaching.

“Good evening.” I greeted the pony softly as I walked up. A pair of neon blue eyes turned towards me.

“Twilight Sparkle.” Sable Stardust dipped his head and flared his wings slightly as he bowed. If he was still upset about the other day, it did not show. He was sitting on his haunches, watching the stars turn above him. I hesitated, wondering where to start, before deciding the direct approach was best.

“Listen, about Rainbow Dash…”

“I know. She didn’t mean it.” He sighed, something he seemed to do often. “Once again, I find I have to apologize for my behavior.”

“Water under the bridge.”

“Enough water can wash out a bridge’s foundations.”

“…Was that a joke?”

“Not a very good one I admit. It doesn’t even make much sense in context.” He returned his attention skyward.

“So I’m just curious, but what are you doing out at this hour?”

“Just walking. I was enjoying the solitude.” He looked towards me out the corner of his eye. “Keyword: was.”

“Do you want me to leave?” Then he looked at me directly but took a long moment before speaking.

“No. No, I don’t.” He sounded almost surprised. I sat down next to him; he shifted a few inches further away. “Although I could ask you the same thing.”

“I was on my way home from Applejack’s, and no. In that order.” Sable humphed, almost a laugh.

“Caught on quick.” He looked back up at the sky, and for another long moment, there was silence between us. I rubbed at my neck neck, trying to come up with a conversation topic.

“Sable Stardust, do you…” He raised a hoof slightly to stop me.

“You don’t have to use my full name.”

“Would you prefer I use Stardust, or Sable?”

“It makes no difference to me, it doesn’t matter.” He slowly shook his head.

“Sable, then. Do you do this often? Come out here at night and watch the stars?”

“Not really. I guess that depends on how you define ‘often.’ A few times per month, give or take.” Sable looked down, his gaze on the grass. “Sometimes it helps.” I suddenly got the impression he wished he hadn’t said it, it was hard to say precisely why, just some subtle shift in how he held himself. My first instinct was to ask why, but I stopped herself. This time, I let it go. It was time to change the subject. So I looked up at the stars myself, noting the positions of the constellations. I pointed at a cluster of stars, hanging low over the mountains.

“Look at that, ‘Orion’ is over Canterlot.” Sable faced the direction I was pointing and then looked higher to another set of stars.

“And above that, ‘Taurus.’ Now would be a poor time to make momentous changes, if you believe that.”

“You know Astrology?” I recalled seeing an astronomy book I had seen in his small collection.

“Astronomy, rather. My father was an astronomer. I grew up with star-maps and telescopes, he never took stock in any of the legends or superstitions. Although he knew all the stories anyway, ‘part of the fun’ he called it.”

“At least one of those old superstitions came true. The stars really did help Nightmare Moon escape her imprisonment.”

“Truly?” He chuckled a little. “I wonder what he would have said had he seen that.” I saw him blink a few times, but then he shook his head and pointed to a bright star in the north. “There, Sirius.” Then to another. “Rigel.” And then to a third. “Vega.” He threw his limb wide. “I could once point to any light in the sky and tell you its name.”

“Once?”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had to care. The names of stars and the motions of the planets were my father’s joy, not mine.” Just at that moment I noticed he only used past tense when referring to his father.

“Sable?” I guessed it would be painful for him, so I tried to be gentle. “What happened to your father?” I reached out to put a hoof on his shoulder supportively. At my touch he twitched and pulled away seemingly by reflex, to stay just out of reach.

“That… that is a story for another time.” I could tell he was trying to hide something by the tone in his voice.

“I’m sorry.” He nodded, forgiving me implicitly. I didn’t see the same angry expression I saw when Fluttershy said the same thing. What was so different about this moment? He was silent for a while longer.

“That's why it helps.” He spoke, at last. “I come out here to think, somewhere I’m not surrounded by all my history. Or inquisitive ponies.” I let him continue uninterrupted, despite the minor jab. “It’s just me, the wind, and the stars.” He unfolded his wings and let the breeze blow over him, eyes raised towards the heavens.

“Do you know what else helps? Talking it over with your friends.” He humphed again and managed to look me in the eyes as he folded his wings.

“I don’t make friends easily. Maybe you haven’t noticed.”

“I had, actually.” I smiled softly. “But that's alright, there are plenty here in Ponyville who would like to get to know you if you would give them a chance.” Sable took a long look at me, and I got the sensation that I was being judged.

“You don’t give up do you?” He narrowed his eyes, inquisitively suspicious.

“Never.” I let some pride slip through, he apparently noticed.

“Good for you.” It was hard to tell if he was being sarcastic or not. “I have given others chances before. It has rarely ended well.”

“Surely it can’t be that bad.”

“You would be amazed just how bad it can get.” Again, he seemed to instantly regret opening his mouth. Sullenly, he looked away. I let the silence linger for a few minutes, hoping he would open up again.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He glanced at me from the corner of his eye, I could guess what he would say. “Let me re-phrase that. Will you talk to me about it?” I saw an appreciative flash in his expression before it turned somewhat darker.

“You think just talking about it will make everything turn out for the better?” He sounds incredulous, disbelieving it could really be that easy. Maybe he’s right, maybe not.

“You would be amazed what you can accomplish by just talking things over.”

“If only.” His voice dropped to a low whisper, almost inaudible. I was about to ask what he meant when Spike stirs behind me, groggily calling me name. “Your dragon wakes. We will speak again.” Sable stood and walked away, apparently intending to end the conversation there.

“If you change your mind. You know where to find me.”

“That I do.”

“Come on Spike.” I lifted the little dragon back onto my shoulders and turned towards the castle when Sable spoke again.

“Twilight Sparkle.” I faced him, standing at the top of the hill and illuminated by moonlight. “You were right.” Then Sable spread his wings wide, the sparkling starfield on the glass panes shimmering in the breeze, and leaped into the air to all but completely vanish into the night. There was nothing but the wind until a whisper came to my ears from somewhere nearby. “It does help.” I looked around, but he couldn’t be found. Even though I couldn’t see him anymore, I smiled anyway.

“Twilight? What’s going on?” Spike rubbed at his eyes, which he could barely keep open.

“I was just talking to a friend, let's go home.”

* * *

_“He really opened up to you there, didn’t he?”_

_“Not as much as I would have liked…”_

_“I didn’t think he was that… introspective.”_

_“Yeah, I guess I thought he was just angry all the time or something.”_

_“Not everypony is who they seem to be at first glance.”_

* * *

“I’m not saying you have to go out of your way, but if you see him go and say hello.” It was a few days later, and I was walking through town alongside Applejack and Pinkie Pie, with Rainbow Dash flying above. “Just remember to be polite.”

“When am I not polite?” This was from Pinkie Pie.

“To be fair, you can come on pretty strong sometimes.” Applejack understood at least. “Just tone it down a bit around him, alright?” She looks over at me. “From what you’ve told us he sounds a bit on the fragile side.”

“Touchy, more like. Couldn’t even take me getting his name wrong without exploding.” Dash gestured enthusiastically as she talked, miming said explosion. “It was just a mistake.”

“At least he didn’t actually zap you. The first thing he did to me was to try and shoot me out the door, literally.”

“If he’s this awful, why are we trying to be all nice with him again?”

“Don’t be like that, we’ve befriended worse. Changelings, Starlight Glimmer, Discord even. Discord!” I paused to let that sink in. “They were all actively trying to do horrible things to us. We can handle one grumpy unicorn with a chip on his shoulder.”

“Even you admit he’s grumpy!” Rainbow Dash pointed accusingly with a hoof.

“Maybe grumpy was a poor choice of word. I’ve had a couple conversations with him, I think he’s just…” I searched for the right word. “lonely.”

“That’s still no excuse for poor behavior, and you know it.” Applejack was right, of course.

“Maybe he wouldn’t be lonely if he didn’t attack everyone who bumped into him.” It was hard to imagine Pinkie Pie offended, but there she was.

“The way I remember it he attacked us because we were intruding into his home without permission.”

“You seem pretty defensive about this guy, what gives?” Dash shoot me with a demanding glare.

“I’m just trying to give him a chance. Doesn’t everypony deserve a second chance?” At this, each of the other three ponies looked mildly ashamed at themselves. “If you give him a chance and he still throws it in your face I won’t ask you to put it aside again.”

“We get it already.” Rainbow Dash huffs. “Fine, we can start over. But if he calls me Crash I’m dashing out.”

“I suppose it’s not really fair to judge him without even talking to him. OK, he can have the benefit of the doubt.”

“See? That's all I’m really asking.” Now I looked over at Pinkie and spotted a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“OK, but I get to throw a party for him. That's how it works.”

“Pinkie, this time I’m not sure that a surprise party is a good idea.” Pinkie turned on me with an exaggerated display of slack-jawed betrayal. I recognized that she didn’t really mean it.

“Seriously?! How could he possibly be against a party! Everyone loves parties!”

“I’m not against a party, we just really don’t want to intrude on him again. If you want to throw him a party just make sure he knows about it ahead of time.”

“I can work with that.” Pinkie trotted away, I could already see her plotting. “I’ll let you know!” She giggled as she called over her shoulder to us.

“Pinkie, wait up!” Rainbow Dash darted after her. Something sank in my gut, and Applejack gave voice to my concern.

“Why do I get the strange feeling we’ve created a monster?”

“You’re probably right.” I sighed. “I should go warn Sable before something ugly happens, in case she forgets.”

“I may as well come with you, if only to be the last one of us to actually meet this guy.” Together we set off, the subject of conversation switching to mundane things. Our route took us through the shopping center, and then around the park, before we paused nearby town hall. I looked around, watching the various ponies out on daily chores, Sable was not among them. “So Twilight, I can’t help but notice we aren’t going in a straight line. Where are we headed again?”

“Well, this is embarrassing.” I gave her a half-cringe smile. “It only occurs to me now, I don’t know where he works.”

“And you thought we might find him by just wandering about town?” It was only pure chance that Pinkie had run into him when they first met. “That's not your cleverest moment. Do you think he might be at his home?”

“We can hope, it’s the best place to check anyways. We can leave a note if he’s not there, at least. He lives out by Everfree Forest, so it’s a bit of a walk.”

“Never stopped us before, lead on.” So now we headed in the direction of Sable’s little hovel. Along the way, I continued to watch for Sable, in case we met him on the road, and we almost reached his home before I remembered to check the air above as well. The sky was devoid of black winged unicorns and otherwise completely clear, aside from some high clouds. It was not long after that the lonely mailbox comes into view. “I don’t see a house.” Applejack was just as confused as I was when I first saw it.

“His house is behind the tree there.” I nodded towards the willow. We followed the dirt trail around the willow’s hanging leaves and up to the little hovel’s door.

“He must really enjoy his privacy, this far outside town.”

“That might be an understatement.” I knocked on the door. “Sable? Are you home?” There was no response from inside, but at least the door didn’t open on its own. Sable must have fixed the latch. We waited for a moment, Applejack was inspecting the structure, frowning slightly. I was about to consider turning away again when Applejack drew my attention to something above us.

“What in blazes is that?” I looked up at what she was pointing at, finding a glowing neon blue image forming above them. It twisted into an arrow, pointing to the hovel’s side, then it extended and followed the contours of the building, until it stopped and pointed down to the ground, now behind the hovel. I shrugged and gestured for Applejack to come along. We followed the arrow, now repeating its previous actions, until we rounded the building. The unicorn in the long black coat stood in front of the pond with his back to us, and beside him a square section of dirt threatening to be overrun by weeds. A trowel hovered beside his right shoulder, spinning slowly, and an open book I recognized as the gardening manual from the other day hung to his left in the air. He appeared to be enthralled in the pages.

“Sable, there you are.” The arrow popped out of existence as Sable looked back at us. “Good afternoon.” He did not speak as he closed the book and set it down before turning to face us directly. His eyes went from me to the pony next at my side. “Applejack, this is Sable Stardust.” Sable nodded to the orange pony, not quite as deeply as the dignified bow he gave me before, which seems to be his preferred greeting.

“Good to meet you.” Applejack extended a hoof in greeting, Sable glanced down at it but did not return the gesture. Applejack seemed mildly annoyed but let it slide, choosing to use her proffered hoof to tip her hat instead. Then I saw recognition in Sable’s face.

“I thought your name sounded familiar. Hello again, Applejack.”

“Pardon?”

“You two have met?” I glanced between the two.

“Not that I remember.” Applejack sounded uncertain.

“I wouldn’t expect you to. The summer before Twilight Sparkle arrived here for the first time Sweet Apple Acres had an unusually heavy harvest.”

“Ah right, I remember now. We hired on some extra help for a while to get everything done on time. I do seem to recall a unicorn helping now.”

“Wait, you’ve been here since I before I even moved in?” Sable looked my way, his expression somewhere between confusion and annoyance.

“Public library.” He said it, as a matter of fact, I drew a blank for an instant before realizing what he meant. He had said the other day that he remembered when the building I moved into when I arrived was the public library. I laughed once at myself when Applejack looked to me for an answer with a bemused face. “Now that we are all acquainted again…” He left the end open, letting us figure it out.

“Well, I had planned to introduce you to Applejack.” I dipped my head a little, acknowledging they have already met. “And to let you know I’ve convinced Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash to give you a chance to start over with them.” Sable raised his head slightly, I hadn’t realized how low he held himself most of the time. When he stands at full height he’s as tall as me.

“Let me guess.” There was more than a little distaste in his voice. “The pink one is planning to throw me a party.”

“How did you figure that so fast?” Applejack seemed surprised, some significant part of my mind was not.

“You can’t live in Ponyville for as long as we have without noticing patterns in the behaviors of certain individuals.” Applejack blinked, Sable rolled his eyes. “Every time somepony new shows up there is a raucous event hosted by none other than Pinkie Pie.” He gestured towards me. “Start over, she said.” He sighed and rubbed at his temple, the trowel hovering in the air twitched back and forth. “Just tell her to keep that blasted cannon out of it.”

“Her party cannon?”

“Last time I wandered too close to one of her parties I took a stray confetti streamer to the eye.” I almost laughed out loud, Applejack did. “Then she pulled out an eye patch from behind a flowerpot and insisted I wear it, no matter how filthy it was.”

“You just have the worst luck with her, how often does this kind of thing happen?”

“After the third time, it’s hard to not take it personally. After the sixth you just sort of accept it as a fact of life.” I couldn’t resist anymore and burst out laughing at the absurdity. Sable tried to not look insulted, I could still see disapproval in his eyes. The trowel in the air suddenly planted itself into the ground beside him, point first. Between laughs, I sputtered an apology and Sable’s expression softened back to normal. “Any warning on when she’s plotting this?” Applejack cleared her throat to chase out the giggles.

“Pinkie has a baker's dozen plans for parties all ready to go at a moment’s notice. I wouldn’t be surprised if she were getting it ready right now.”

“She did say she would let us know when it was ready, and I made her promise to ask you first.” At this Sable nodded again, clearly grateful. “I think tomorrow at the earliest is more likely.”

“That would surprise me. It’s supposed to rain tomorrow.” I hadn’t checked the weather schedule for a few days, so I had to think for a minute to conclude he was right. "Well, thank you anyways for the heads up.” Sable lifted the trowel from where it was embedded and made to turn back to his little garden in progress.

“So, Stardust, I can’t help but notice your house is a little…” Applejack didn’t want to let the conversation end just yet it seemed. “Interesting.” She chose a neutral word at least, for which I was grateful. I didn’t want another repeat of the incident with Rainbow Dash.

“Like it?” Sarcasm as Sable looked towards his home. “I made it myself.” There was no pride there, only flat acknowledgment and a little disappointment directed towards the construction. “And you don’t have to be polite about it. It’s a hovel.”

“I think I can help a bit.” Applejack stepped up next to the wall and pointed to where it meets the ground, and then the pond. “The problem you’ve got is the house is too close to the pond.”

“Oh?” Sable dropped the trowel and brought his attention entirely to Applejack.

“See, the water makes the ground soft.”

“I put in a stone foundation.” That’s what I would have done as well. Although I probably would have read up on engineering first.

“That doesn’t really help here; unfortunately, the heavy stone just sinks in unevenly over time. That's why your walls are leaning. I bet your foundation is starting to fall apart too.”

“You would be correct.”

“Tell me you didn’t put in a basement?”

“I was not that ambitious.”

“Well, that’s good. The water from the pond would seep in through the walls and flood it fairly quickly.” Applejack swept her gaze around, judging the terrain. “I think the right thing to do here would have been to set the structure on some piles.”

“I assume you mean the wooden rods pounded into the ground vertically?”

“Yeah, that's right. They compress the ground and help squeeze out the water, while also not sinking the same way stone would. That way the house stays level for longer.”

“I hadn’t considered that.” It sounded like the idea surprised him.

“The other good options would have been to put the house on top of, or part way up, the hill there.” Applejack pointed to the hillside nearby. “Or on the other side of the big tree. That should be far enough away for the ground to hold better.”

“I’ve even seen some ponies who used trees themselves as part of the structure.” Here I finally found a way to enter the conversation. “Before you ask, I don’t mean building up in the branches.” I cut off the retort I could tell was coming. “What I mean is using the trunk as one corner of the building itself.” Sable looks over the roof to the willow beyond, frowning slightly.

“Curious engineering. Although I don’t think this tree is a good choice for that.” He shook his head. “No, I think…” He paused on the verge of saying something. I let him think, Applejack did the same. “I thank you for your analysis.” He nodded towards Applejack. “However at this time I have no plans to rebuild just yet.”

“Well, if you change your mind you can come and ask us for help. I’ve had to rebuild the barn a few times. As long as it’s not harvest-season, we should be able to find the time to help you out.” I was genuinely surprised that Applejack would offer this so quickly, Sable seemed utterly dumbstruck by it. I watched him carefully, he couldn’t seem to find the right words to respond with.

“Just something to think about.” I came to his rescue. “We should let you get back to your garden.” I gestured to the weed-ridden patch of dirt.

“That’s a garden?” Applejack clearly doubted it.

“Not yet.” Sable and I answered simultaneously. Sable met my eyes, and laughed, raising his head high. Not the humphs from before or even a chuckle, but an honest deep laugh. It wasn’t even that funny, but he laughed anyway. A moment later and he settled down to a faint smile, nodding deeply to the both of us before retrieving his trowel once again.

“Good luck then, We’ll see you at the party then.” Applejack turned to leave.

“I’ll be along in a moment.” I waved her on and hung back for a moment, then I waited until Applejack was around the corner. “You know, I think that's the first time I’ve heard you really laugh.” I looked over at Sable, he looked back with a curiously raised eyebrow. “You should do that more often, it’s a good sound.” Then I waved goodbye and trotted off after Applejack.

* * *

_“That was the day before my party… I still need to apologize to him.”_

_“I’m really thankful you didn’t invite anypony else. It was rough enough with just us.”_

_“The party didn’t go well?”_

_“That would be a serious understatement.”_

_“Calling it an utter disaster wouldn’t be doing it justice.”_

* * *

Spike and I trotted up to the door of Sable’s hovel, holding the rain at bay with an umbrella spell, and knocked. It was Pinkie who let us in, everyone else was already there, except for the notable absence of Sable Stardust himself. Rarity and Fluttershy stood over by the shelves, where Pinkie had set up a record player, Rainbow Dash hovered in the air more or less at the peak of the ceiling, and Applejack was waiting over by the stove looking at some papers. With all seven of us here it was a bit crowded, it was a good thing Pinkie Pie didn’t invite anyone else.

“Sable’s not here yet?” Pinkie sounded disappointed. “I’m starting to think he doesn’t want to show.” The pink pony went back to pacing around the table at the center of the room, upon which a small cake sat next to a bowl of punch. Several balloons were tied to whatever furniture was available. As far as Pinkie’s parties go this was pretty subdued.

“Unless he ran off to avoid us, he’ll have to come home eventually.” Dash sounded a little irritated. “And here I thought Twilight would be the last one to show.”

“Hey!”

“Don’t take it like that, it wouldn’t be the first time you’ve gotten involved in some book or puzzle and lost track of the time.” Rarity was right, and I knew it.

“I’ll keep an eye out for him.” Spike positioned himself by the window to watch out into the rain for the missing pony. A droplet of water dripped from the ceiling nearby the window, landing in a pot presumably left there by Sable for just that purpose. If the rain continued like it was for much longer, or if he didn’t empty it soon, it was going to overflow.

“Hey Twilight, come take a look at this.” Applejack waved me over to the papers and I went to examine them. They appeared to be rough schematics of the hovel and the surrounding area, the drawings were very crude. Several scribbles around the edges took note of the advice Applejack gave Sable regarding his home the other day. The second page seemed to indicate a plan, or possibly several, to improve the foundations by driving posts underneath the building. “Can you make sense of it?” Along the side were a number of calculations I recognized as a magical formula for teleportation, along with a few I did not, they seemed to be partially completed or abandoned thoughts regarding weight and volume. I noted that some of the formulae are incorrect.

“My educated guess is that he plans to lift the entire pond into the air and then drive several long logs directly into the ground underneath the house, or alternatively, to teleport the reinforcements directly into place.” Applejack seemed incredulous. “Those are both ambitious plans, it’s tricky to teleport things around when you can’t see where they are going, and holding that much water in the air while levitating big logs around can be taxing.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to rebuild?”

“Probably, judging by the work he’s putting into these plans he must be pretty attached to this place. Where’d you find these?”

“I rescued them from under the punch, I didn’t think Stardust would like his stuff wrecked by a spill.”

“I’m sure he’ll appreciate that.” I noticed Fluttershy looking a little apprehensive, and excused myself from Applejack. “Is something wrong?”

“Not really, I’m just not sure Mr. Stardust will approve of us being here without him. He seems to me to be a very private individual.”

“I know what you mean. But don’t worry, I talked with him before, and was alright with a party.” Fluttershy visibly relaxed, almost like letting out a held breath. My shy friend looked up at the shelves of curiosities. I noted the soldier figure had its leg repaired.

“What do you think these are for?”

“I don’t really know. I suppose there must be a story to everything up there. If you ask he’ll probably tell you.”

“I wouldn’t want to bother him.” Always the considerate one.

“For once I think being bothered might be a good thing. I found him out in the park the other day, and he really opened up to me with a little bit of prodding.” Fluttershy contemplated my suggestion, eying the objects in sequence, and I turned towards Rarity. The other unicorn was judging the quilt hanging on the wall.

“This is outstanding work, such a shame it was never finished.” She looked around, finding something missing. “I don’t see any sewing needles or thread or fabric. And look here.” She lifted the bottom edge of the quilt from the wall to give me a closer look. “This edge is hemmed poorly, nothing like the quality of the rest of it.”

“Maybe it was a gift?”

“I doubt that. I know I would never give someone such an unfinished gift if I could avoid it.”

“I don’t know then. You’ll just have to ask him yourself.”

“OK, that's it!” Pinkie’s exclamation drew all our attention. “This is now a surprise party!” Eminently energetic, Pinkie Pie zipped around the room, snuffing out the lights.

“Hold up sugarcube, why the change in plan?” Applejack beat me to the question.

“Because he’s late, obviously.”

“I said before, I don’t think he’ll enjoy a surprise party.” Pinkie ignored my objections and the serious tone in my voice.

“Yeah! I think he deserves this one, just a tiny little bit of revenge for before and then we’re even.” Rainbow Dash looked to even the score, rallying to Pinkie’s side in the argument.

“I think he’s made of something a bit sterner than you think, judging from our conversation the other day.” Applejack had no objection. Rarity remained silent, allowing this to unfold without comment either way.

“You said it yourself Twilight, maybe he needs to be bothered a little.”

“Et tu, Fluttershy?” I looked around to each of my friends, seeing nothing but approval for Pinkie’s new plan.

“Besides.” Pinkie spoke again. “It’s not really a surprise party, not if you told him about it already.” Out-logic-ed, by Pinkie no less. So, I sighed in defeat. Pinkie Pie squeaked, and immediately set about getting everypony ready for the event. “So everyone crouches down where he can’t see you, and we wait until he closes the door before springing the surprise!” Near total darkness descends on the room as Pinkie snuffed out the remaining light. “That way he can’t avoid us by running outside!”

“I know how surprise parties work, Pinkie.” To no avail, Pinkie wasn’t listening anymore, giggling softly to herself. I didn’t even get a chance to ask the obvious question about when Sable might arrive before Spike alerted us.

“Hey, I think he’s coming!” He kept his voice low and crouched down so he couldn’t be seen through the window. I allowed myself one more disapproving shake of my head before taking my place in Pinkie’s scheme, crouching behind the table. The others were each hiding as best they could in the limited space. Fluttershy was barely even bothering, just covering her eyes with her front hooves and lying low on the floor.

A few moments later the door opened, and I heard Sable sigh. Then a swooshing sound mostly drowned out by the rain, which I took to be him shaking off the rain. The door clicked shut.

“Surprise!” I ignited all the lamps, and suddenly the room was awash in light. Pinkie’s record started up, and Pinkie herself was already dancing. Everypony else, however, was staring in silence and shock at the unicorn standing at the door… without his coat. His ragged old coat was draped over the mannequin, explaining its purpose. The letters from the mailbox he had been looking at dropped to the floor, including a pink note clearly left by Pinkie he hadn’t had a chance to read. Poor purple Sable looked like someone walked in on him in the shower, dripping wet and vulnerable. But it was not his stunned expression that everyone was looking at, it was his Cutie-mark.

 

He didn’t have one.

 

The music screeched to a halt as Fluttershy pushed the needle off the record, drawing Pinkie’s attention at last. She stopped dancing to stare at Sable’s bare flank with mouth agape.

“You’re a blank-Fl…?” Pinkie Pie got no farther in her obvious question before she was forcibly teleported with a bang, an electric charge in the air from Sable’s spell standing my hair on end. The balloons all popped. “Woo! I’m OK!” I spotted Pinkie reappearing outside, she seemed stunned but otherwise alright. I opened my mouth to speak, but when Sable glared at me like never before I decided against it. The door violently swung open, crashing into the wall hard enough to leave marks in the wood and shake the entire house.

“ _Get. Out._ ” I thought he was angry when he shouted at Dash at the castle, I had thought him angry when he outright attacked Pinkie, but this… this was another level of fury entirely. Sable’s body quivered with barely restrained rage, his glass wings cracking audibly with strain and his voice growled contemptuously.

We didn’t need to be told twice. Dash was out first, followed quickly by Rarity and then Applejack. Fluttershy moved gingerly towards the door, I could see tears already forming in her eyes. Stardust shot an angry glare down at her, little bolts of lightning sparking from his eyes and horn as she stepped past slowly. Spike sneaked out behind him, unseen by the unicorn’s angry gaze as the enraged unicorn turned his eyes on me.

I was the last to leave, I again prepared to apologize, to say something. To say anything. But there were no words for him now, in his expression I could only read betrayal. I hung my head in shame and walked out into the rain, everyone else was huddled underneath the willow, Rarity was not even bothering with a simple umbrella spell. The door smashed shut, swung open again due to its faulty latch and was then forced closed by something heavy being thrown against it.

Before I walked away, I looked in through the window, thanking Celestia that he wasn’t looking outside at that moment. He’d put his coat back on. Now drained of targets all the strength had left him. He didn’t even manage to climb into his bed, and weakly curled up on the floor to shiver with heavy rasping breaths. To my eyes, he looked… cold. Cold, and in considerable pain.

I, at last, turned away, giving him the privacy we should have given before. Slowly, and in silence, we withdraw. Even Pinkie Pie had nothing to say, but her expression told enough. She went too far this time, we all did. I let the rain beat down on me, it was the least we deserved.


	2. Expanding Consequences

_“Oh my… He really doesn’t have a cutie-mark?”_

_“Yeah, that’s right.”_

_“I’m sorry, It’s my fault we found out!”_

_“It's OK, Pinkie. We would have discovered it eventually.”_

_“I don’t know what to say.”_

_“None of us did… If we hadn’t found out his secret, I don’t think any of what came after would have happened.”_

* * *

Slowly and alone, I walked up to Fluttershy’s house. The clear and bright morning sky above was a stark contrast to how I felt. I almost wished it was still raining, at least then I would feel appropriate. It was several long moments after I knocked before Fluttershy answered the door.

“Hello, Twilight.” It looked like the yellow pegasus hadn’t slept well. I knew the feeling, I barely slept at all.

“Fluttershy, I need someone to talk to.” Fluttershy nodded, opening the door fully and allowing me to enter. We sat down around the table, I noted the tea and plate of food sitting before her, I must have interrupted breakfast.

“It’s about yesterday isn’t it?”

“Yes.” I hung my head again. Fluttershy made to say something, then considered against it, then seemed to reconsider again.

“I don’t know how I can help.” I honestly wasn’t sure that she could, I think maybe I just needed her to listen.

“I should never have let Pinkie talk me into it.”

“The surprise? Or the party?”

“The surprise. Both, maybe. I don’t know. I just feel awful.” I paused to consider precisely why I felt so miserable. Was it because I broke Sable’s trust, or that we intruded on his privacy, that we found out his secret? All those reasons? Aren’t they all the same thing?

“You couldn’t have known. None of us could.” Maybe Fluttershy was right, but then again… puzzle pieces fit into place in my mind.

“I should have figured it out. If I had just been paying more attention, all the warning signs were there. His constantly downcast mood, his desire for privacy, his anger with Pinkie and me. Remember how he was upset when Rarity brought up his coat? It all makes sense now. I never even considered it was a possibility.”

“I can’t even imagine what it must be like for him.”

“It’s not particularly rare for it to take a while to find your cutie-mark, but I’ve never heard of a full grown pony without one.”

“Really? Never?”

“I was up late looking for answers, in all my history books there’s not a single mention of this ever happening before, even in texts directly about the subject of cutie-marks. I don’t think it ever has.”

“Would that even help if it had?”

“Yes… maybe… I don’t know. It would give me a hint of what to do.” Only a few times before have I felt so lost. I shut my eyes, unwilling to meet Fluttershy face to face. The pegasus took another long moment to think things over.

“Twilight. I think you’re fixating on the wrong problem.” She stepped around the table and puts a steadying hoof on my shoulder. “It’s not about his cutie-mark, it doesn’t matter if he has one or not. It’s about his feelings, he probably feels like we betrayed his trust. I think you need to go talk to him, not to me.”

“You’re right.” I sighed. “I know.” I looked up to meet Fluttershy’s eyes, recalling how she was able to sense Stardusts discomfort when Rarity brought up his coat. “Will you please come with me? I think you understand him in ways I don’t.” The pegasus stepped back, looking just as uncomfortable as the shy filly she was when I first met her. “Please, I don’t think I can really face him alone right now.” Fluttershy gave me a hug.

“I’m sorry Twilight. But I think this time, you have to do this on your own.” Somehow I knew she was going to say something like this. “You were the one to reach out to him in the first place. You are the only one he’s really been open with. I think if anypony else goes along he’ll just feel like he’s being attacked again.”

“You are probably right.” I sighed again, resigning myself to my newfound doom. “I just hope I don’t screw this up too.”

* * *

_“It wasn’t your fault, Twilight.”_

_“I still feel responsible.”_

* * *

Slowly I approached Sable’s hovel outside town. I hesitated as I reached the door, ready to knock but still unready to meet him again. It took me several steadying breaths before I finally put a hoof to wood. No answer came from within. I looked in through the window, still open from last night. There seemed to be no one inside, I could see now the table had been slid over to block the door, spilled punch and cake staining the rug.

I turned to leave, he could have been pretty much anywhere. Looking up at the sky revealed no new information, but did remind me of the other day when I arrived with Applejack. There was no arrow to direct me back, but I knew the way.

One part of my mind was hoping Sable wouldn’t be here, this little nagging voice was disappointed. Sure enough, Sable Stardust sat facing his little pond beside the small garden. Still wearing his black coat, possibly since last night. Neon blue eyes swiveled towards me, registering my presence before turning back to the water. It looked like he's been crying, his eyes were bloodshot. His black glass wings were absent. He said nothing.

“Um… hello.” I broke the silence first, speaking softly. He said nothing for a while, probably hoping I would just leave.

“Come to gawk, have you?” He faced me. “Come one, come all, see the freak.” He waved an arm in the air, mimicking a circus announcer. “The one and only pony in all of Equestria without a cutie-mark.”

“You can’t possibly know that for a fact.” I didn’t mean to sound defensive, although I knew he was probably right.

“Yes, I can.” He narrowed his eyes. “I’ve looked.” Now he looked back out at his pond. I came up beside him and took a seat, Sable sighed in annoyance but remained silent.

“I’m really sorry.” He gave no response to my apology, the significance was not lost to me. “We shouldn’t have done that to you, it was wrong of us.” I continued to speak softly, the remorse in my voice plain to hear.

“Of course it was.” He paused before looking pointedly away from me. “If you’re here just so you can feel better then I’m going to ask you to leave.” I expected him to sound somehow angrier than he did. “I’m not in the forgiving mood today.” I took the time necessary to consider my feelings; had I come here so I could apologize to him, or to be forgiven? The difference between the two was now the chasm between me and Sable. Indeed, being forgiven, something I have experienced before, always made me feel better but is that really what he thought of me? What life could one lead that would bring somepony to that conclusion? I had no answer that could satisfy him. Something within said I should go but something else told otherwise and it is to this second voice that I listened, so I remained.

Silence lingered regardless, I didn’t know what to say. I considered changing the subject but knew it would be an empty gesture. Something had broken between us now, perhaps permanently. The thought passed like a flash, and inwardly I steeled myself, determined to not let it just end like that.

“Still… I am very sorry. It was all a terrible mistake on our part.”

“Don’t make me repeat myself, it's beneath both of us.”

“Sable, please.” For an instant, I begged. “I consider you a friend, talk to me.” I reached out to him but remembered how he shied away from me before and stopped myself.

“And tell you what? That all I need is a spirited pep-talk to fix everything? Don’t be naive. We both know nothing can fix this.” He pointed to his side, clearly indicating the space where his mark should be.

“You’re right, just talk won't help you get your mark. But I can do more to help you if you will let me.” I smiled supportingly, he glared at me from the corner of his eye.

“I’m going to make you guess.” I had no idea what he meant, and my smile faded. “How many before you have said those same words?” I had no idea, I couldn’t possibly know.

“Zero?” I hoped, knowing somehow I was wrong.

“You would be the fourth.” He reads something on my face that must have been surprise. “Did you really think you were the first to discover my secret? Or maybe even the first to care? Somehow I suspect you won’t even be the last. I’ve had this conversation before.” I opened my mouth to speak, but he cuts me off. “This is the part where you ask me to explain, to help you understand even though you won’t.” He sighed and lowered his head, almost down to the water. “And this is the part where I’m going to tell you anyways.” There’s something in his voice, a resilience perhaps, I had not heard before. Maybe he was still hopeful, maybe he hadn’t given up. “Come with me in the twilight of a summer night for a while.” Strangely, there was a melody to his voice. “And tell me of a story never ever told in the past.” He almost smiled, but it was false and short lived. “Just something from a song I like, it seemed appropriate.” He stood, walking to the other side of his garden. “I suppose I should start with when I was young, when I knew nothing of failure.”

“You told me, before, your father was an astronomer.”

“Yes, and my mother was a weaver. When I was young they saw great potential in me, they thought I was quick and clever. And I was good with magic, very good for my age. But we lived in a small town out near the edge of Equestria, not that different from Ponyville actually, and there was no good school of magic out that far. So they scratched by and saved until they could afford for me to take the entrance exam to the best magic school in Equestria.” He gave me a wry smile, clearly a false one. “Maybe you know it?”

“Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns?” He nodded. I never saw him there, but then again I barely spent any time with my own friends while I was there. Even if he was enrolled I wouldn’t have recognized him.

“So we came to Canterlot, how excited I was. But the test was beyond me. Maybe I was too young, they thought. So they saved and scratched and sacrificed, and we could afford to try again the next year. Meanwhile, I practiced and studied what I could. I got better, no doubt about that. We tried again, and then again. But by this point, I was getting older, and it was getting harder to save up enough to make the trip. So we tried once more, while I was still young enough to be let in.” He paused, looking up at the distant city of Canterlot. “It was my best performance yet. I was so sure I had gotten everything right.”

“They didn’t let you in did they?”

“There was a lot of competition for spots that year. And later in the day, there was some sort of magical explosion in the sky which shook my concentration.” I froze, I remembered that day somewhat differently. “When they told me my results… well… it turned out I met the criteria for entry, just barely. But they said the last spot had been taken by ‘somepony special.’ And they thought my age was giving me an advantage. So they turned me away, all the while profusely apologizing.” I hesitated, but he deserved to know how we had almost been classamtes.

“That was the day I got my cutie-mark… That explosion was Rainbow Dash’s sonic rainboom, it’s what caused me to break through, the day Celestia took me under her wings.” He was taken aback at my admission, truly surprised, staring at me. “I think I was the special pony who took your spot.” Then he laughed, a hollow, empty thing. It was so unlike how he laughed before.

“There but for the grace of a fortuitous magical detonation go I.” He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it now, I’m not going to resent you for the decisions of others from many years ago.” He had plenty to resent me for now as is. “In retrospect, I don’t think it would have mattered in the end anyway. After that, I just had to study magic on my own. I suppose I’m still pretty good, if somewhat unpolished. My grades in regular school began to slip, I was devastated by not making it to Celestia’s school, and I kept seeing all my friends getting their marks while I remained…” He tapped his blank flank under his coat. “There was teasing at first, naturally, and it stung. But after a while, the outright teasing went away, as they began to think there was something… wrong… with me instead. The pity and the revulsion were so much worse, how I wished they would go back to teasing me. Can you imagine what that was like, to have all your friends look at you as if you were sick somehow, that they might catch something foul just by hanging around you?” He waited for me to answer, even as the silence between us dragged on.

“No… I can’t.” He nodded again, and I thought I saw respect for my honesty in his expression.

“I’m not even going to try and explain those feelings. Words… are so insufficient.” He sighed, closing his eyes.

“They all abandoned you, didn’t they?”

“Not at first, and not all in the end.” He looked down at his little garden, at a single lily flower. “Sereina didn’t.” Again, I saw him as he was last night, so cold and in pain. “She didn’t care what they thought. She was the first to try and really help me.” His voice almost cracked, and I sould see tears forming. “She was kind and gentle, and always knew what to say to make me feel better.” In fact, this Sereina sounded rather a lot like a certain yellow pegasus I knew. “You would have liked her, Fluttershy reminds me of her.” He paused, a tear rolled down his cheek and landed on the lily flower. “Everything was better then.” I caught it again, the past tense he used when he talked about her was somehow different, more significant, from the rest. “Tell me, Princess Twilight Sparkle, do you know what failure feels like?” I nodded, but he was not looking at me.

“Yes. I’ve made some pretty terrible mistakes before.”

“No, no. Not mistakes. Not setbacks. I mean, failure.” His voice hardened as he emphasized the last word, I blinked in confusion. “I’m going to guess that at some point you found yourself having made something you called a ‘terrible mistake.’ But with some time to think or the support of your friends that everything turned out alright in the end.” This was an accurate assessment of several great challenges I have faced, including the moment I became an Alicorn. “That is not failure.” He paused to let that sink in. “That is skill, help, teamwork, or friendship. Maybe even simply a chance to try again.” He sighed, again. “Let me show you something.” Static built around us and then lightning cracked as he teleported us both. The part of my mind which is always working analyzed his spell, powerful but rough, accurate but energy intensive, and the electric charge stood my hairs on end as we materialized inside his hovel. Had he received proper training he might even have been as good as Starlight Glimmer. He pointed to the clock on the wall as I got my bearings. “If you had to guess, why do you think that clock doesn’t run?”

“I just assumed you hadn’t wound it.”

“I don’t even know. I made it myself, I haven’t been able to get it running, even following directions. So much for clockmaking.” He lifted the soldier toy from the shelf. “I once thought I could make these and sell them, but there was another pony with a mark for making toys. His were better, and no one wanted mine. These were the best I could manage, they weren’t even half as good as his worst.” He put the toy back on the shelf and held up the ceramic bowl with the crack running down the side. “For a while, I took up pottery, this was the only one which survived the kiln.” Then he set the bowl on the stove and turned to point at the mannequin. “I experimented with making clothes but had no talent for stitching or eye for fashion. Rarity would agree. All I got from that was a place to keep my coat.” He gestured to the house around him as a whole. “And of course I built all this myself, rebuilt it myself, twice in fact. It’s still a wretched hovel.”

“What about the others?” I turned towards the shelves. “All these things, they are your attempts to find your mark aren’t they?”

“You are correct, in a manner of speaking. It would seem the princess of friendship is capable of basic pattern recognition.” Mockery. “They are all my greatest triumphs. All my best attempts to do something, anything, with what I’ve got. There were so many more I didn’t keep. But, and say it with me now.” He paused until I faced him again. “They were never good enough. Never satisfying. Always last, least, flawed, broken.” He started to advance towards me. “Are we sensing a theme yet? Even in what I’m best at I get humiliated by those with marks, often casually.” His voice began to rise, and I backed away. “That is why you won’t understand. You can’t understand, and you can’t fix it. You don’t know what failure is really like.” He was shouting now, he may not have even been aware. _“You don’t know what it’s like when ponies die because you weren’t good enough!”_

Silence fell between us. Sable seethed, breathing hard through his clenched teeth. I feared to speak, or rather, feared to make things worse. Sable blinked and turned away, aware at last he lost control again. His teleport cracked the air, and I heard him re-materialize outside. I followed, with my own teleport making a more subdued pop compared to his crack of thunder, appearing far enough away to make it clear I was not leaving without being too close to startle him. Sable stood beside his garden again, looking down at the lily.

“This was her favorite flower.”

“What happened? I know you didn’t want to talk about it before.” He was quiet for a time, I let him think. At last, he shrugged and sat back down at the water’s edge.

“One night….” He projected an image out onto the water’s surface, the illusion nearly perfectly clear. A cottage in a valley, a small observatory on a hill adjacent to the happy little home surrounded by pine trees. The water rippled and I realized the rain was part of the spell. “Sereina was over for dinner, with my parents.” A tiny pegasus, in a lovely shade of magenta with a minty mane, appeared from outside the bounds of the illusion and approached the door of the model sized home. An equally tiny Sable, without his distinctive coat, opened the door and let her inside.

The spell followed them in and expanded to show the interior of the building. It was a cozy little home, warm and inviting. Along one wall was a series of pictures of nebula and star maps, there was a loom in one corner with a half-finished quilt in the works. I recognized the quilt as the same one on the wall in Sable’s hovel. The scene played out, a perfect memory of a pleasant evening with family. His mother was a light blue earth pony with a sandy blond mane tied up in a bun, his father a dark grey unicorn with a short white shock of a mane. Only now could I make out the cutie-marks of the other ponies, his mother had an unfurling bolt of white cloth, his father’s a telescope with a trio of stars, and Sereina had a winged heart. Together they talked and they laughed, although the image itself was silent. When suddenly the house shook, and the little purple Sable bolted to a window to look outside.

“There was a rock-slide.” Sable, the real one, threw a stone into the pond, just outside the illusory window. The tiny figure in the spell fled from the rock regardless and bolted back to his family, throwing up a shield around them. I could see the strain it was causing him even though it was just an illusion. The little cottage shook again, and the walls and ceiling came crashing down onto the shield, there was no sound to the display, but I heard them scream anyway. Cracks formed in the barrier, and it shattered under the pressure.

The tiny family was trapped, his mother huddled close to his father, who seemed to be unconscious, and a structural beam had pinned the little magenta pegasus to the floor. Memory Sable stood where his shield had been, himself intact but drained. The little purple unicorn strained to lift the beam, first with magic and then with force of arms, but only more rubble fell. The memory of Sereina reaches up, and he took her arm, I saw him speaking but there were no words. The little Sable looked back to his parents, his mother waved him away, presumably asking him to get help. Both Sables looked down at Sereina for a moment and the image flickered, blinking out for an instant, and when it reformed the memory Sable was outside by the observatory panting hard, he almost fell over. The house was half buried under stone, and the image of the pony turned and fled.

“I ran to get help. As fast as I could. They came, friends again in a time of need.” Little Sable returned, with a bevy of others following. He stood atop the hill and pointed down, the house remained covered in rocks and stone. The little ponies began to dig through the rubble, some of the unicorns started to lift boulders. “But it was too late.” A pegasus in the air pointed to something out of view, and real Sable threw another stone into the water. The illusory ponies scattered back up the hill, memory Sable had to be dragged away physically. At the top of the hill, they could only look down in horror as the house collapsed under more rock and mud. The image flickered out entirely, and I looked up to see Sable wiping tears from his eyes, his voice almost cracked. “I spent the night there, watching everything I loved get buried in muck. When the storm ended, we dug out the house, hoping they had been able to somehow survive. I don’t think I need to say more.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You had nothing to do with it.” He snapped at me, insulted for some reason. “What’s the point in apologizing? It’s not like you could go back and fix it.” I almost said I could, I know several time travel spells. But I have been on the receiving end of manipulating history, it could have easily ended very poorly. Sable, perceptive, noticed my contemplation and locked his eyes on me. The question hung unasked in the air, ‘could she?’

“I know it hurts, but I’m sorry. I won’t do that.”

“Won’t?” His eyes flashed, just not literally.

“Time travel is incredibly difficult, even for me, and extremely dangerous. Starlight Glimmer had to learn that the hard way, she almost ended Equestria.” He looked now from my face back to the flower. “It wasn’t your fault what happened to them, it was a horrible accident.” He shook his head.

“If I had more practice, I could have put up a superior shield. If I had been stronger, I could have lifted the beams. If I had been smarter, I could have teleported them out. If I had been faster, I could have gotten help sooner. I’ve thought about it forever, if I had been just a little better in any number of a thousand ways I could have saved them. No, it is my fault they aren’t here anymore.” He clearly struggled to continue, his strength left him again and he had to lie down. “I salvaged what I could, and left. There isn’t much else to say.” He stared out at his pond, where the illusion had been. “I wandered from place to place, taking what jobs I could to get by, trying to find where I belonged. No points for guessing how that worked out. Eventually, I found myself here, at the end of a very long road with nowhere left to go.” He fell silent, unwilling now to say any more. I stayed, trying to find some words of comfort for him. For a long time I said nothing, and he refused to look my way.

“Thank you.” I sat down beside him, just inside arm’s reach. “For telling me. I don’t want to even pretend to understand how you feel.” He did not respond to me, he might as well have been asleep. “I don’t know if I can help, you were right about that. But still, don’t give up. There’s always hope.”

“Weren’t you paying attention?” He snorted derisively. “Hope is all I’ve got.”

* * *

_“…I had no idea. Poor Sable…”_

_“I think I understand now why he was so defensive.”_

_“Last time, I didn’t tell anypony else. It was a promise I made to him.”_

_“But… didn’t you just break that promise?”_

_“It’s better this way. Besides, you all eventually found out the important parts anyway.”_

* * *

 

Several days later, My conversation with Sable still weighed heavily on my mind. Try as I might, I could find no answers in my library. Even with time to look in more detail the answers I needed simply couldn’t be found in the texts of the wise. It would seem that the idea that a pony would have no special talent at all had simply not occurred to anypony.

My only clue with what I had learned is that only Equines can get cutie-marks. Other species can not, and this was something I already knew. Could he have been something else? I shook the thought out of my head, I must have been grasping at straws to even consider it. Sable was obviously only a unicorn, with no unique heritage to speak of. Someone knocked on my door, and I looked up to see a unicorn entering the room.

“Hello, Starlight Glimmer.”

“Twilight, what’s all this about.” Glimmer waved a hoof at the stacks of books around me. “I haven’t seen you this obsessed in a while.”

“I’m glad you’re here.” I set down my most recent tome and turned towards my friend. “I screwed up. So I was doing research, hoping somepony else had ever run into my problem before.” Glimmer tipped her head to the side.

“Oh? Having any luck?”

“No, unfortunately, I think might be a unique event.”

“I’ve seen you handle unique before. It can’t be that bad.”

“It’s not that, there’s nothing actually at stake in the broader sense.” Only the destiny of a single pony, I didn’t say it out loud.

“In that case, do you need any help?” I considered Glimmer’s offer, she was an expert of cutie-mark magic after all.

“You might have the expertise I need… but I have to ask you to wait on that assistance for now.” It was hard to say if she looked disappointed. “At least until I ask him if he wants your help.”

“And who might ‘him’ be?” Starlight Glimmer smiled playfully, perhaps more like cat spotting an unsuspecting mouse. “Somepony special?”

“No, no, nothing like that.” I shook my head, not even toying with the thought. “It's just, the last time I brought somepony into this without asking it just ended up making everything so much worse. I’m not making that mistake again.” I looked back at my books and sighed. “I’m forced to admit now that there is nothing in any of these books which can help me now.” Glimmer stepped past me to examine the stack of tomes.

“These are all about Cutie-marks. What could you possibly need these for?” I opened my mouth to speak, but remembered how Sable looked when we discovered his blank flank and shut it.

“I’m sorry, but it’s not my secret to share.”

“Wait a minute.” Something inside Glimmer clicked, clearly. “This must have to do with that Sable Stardust character.”

“How did you know already? Did Pinkie Pie tell you?”

“Well no. I heard something about him from Applejack, but she was just as silent about it as you. I’m going to guess he’s got a problem with his mark?” She waved to the books. I nodded but didn’t say exactly what that problem was. “In that case, if magic can’t help you should go get those little girls from town. What did they call their little group, the Cutie Mark Crusaders? Wasn’t it?”

“Of course! Why didn’t I think about it! That's perfect!” I gave Glimmer a quick hug and bolted for the door, hopeful for the first time that day.

“Happy to help!” Called out Glimmer from behind me, sounding still mildly confused. The Crusaders might indeed be perfect for this, they specialized in helping those without marks figure themselves out. If anyponys could help Sable, it was them. I called out to Spike as I galloped, shouting I would be in town for a while. I swung the door open, leaving at a dead run, and slid to a halt a few inches from a startled purple unicorn just outside.

“Hello, Twilight.” Sable deadpanned, despite nearly being bowled over. Although he did back away, outside arm’s reach.

“Sable! Sorry about that. What are you doing here?” I hoped I sounded merely curious and took a look at him. He seemed tired, but significantly calmer than before. He had his black glass wings again, folded against his ragged coat.

“What’s going on?” Spike emerged from the castle, apparently not having heard what I said earlier. Sable glanced down at the dragon, nodded briefly, and returned his attention to me.

“I came to thank you for giving me some space the last few days.” I bowed my own head for once, a little embarrassed that I had done that not because I was giving him space, but rather because I had been spending all my time reading. “Sometimes it takes me a while to put my mask back on after… well after it’s been torn off.”

“Mask? What mask?” Asked Spike. Sable did not look down at the dragon, he was holding himself very still, as if concentrating, and I thought I saw his horn glow for an instant.

“Twilight Sparkle understands.” It was his only answer for Spike. I nodded, silently promising him I would not reveal his secrets to anypony else without his permission.

“Actually it’s a good thing you are here. I think I have some friends who might be able to help.” Sable raised an eyebrow but did not speak. “Starlight Glimmer is an expert on cutie-mark magic, you should consider talking to her. She’s even here right now.”

“I plan on it.” What was that in his voice, confidence? No, it was more like determination.

“And there’s some other Ponies who might be able to help too. Applejack and Rarity’s sisters have a group called…”

“Yes, I am aware of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.” He interrupted me. “I have previously considered the possibility they might be able to help with my… condition and decided against it.” That was disappointing.

“You mean, about your… uh…” Spike pointed at Sable’s side but fell silent when Sable glared at him.

“I don’t think they have the experience required to handle my particular problem, not yet anyway. And… I’ve told you already, words and encouragement are not enough on their own.”

“Oh…” I let my gaze fall down, disheartened that he wasn’t willing to give them a try.

“Besides. I am not ready just yet to…” He traced circles on the ground, looking for the right words. “Introduce myself in my entirety to others. Let us call it that.”

“That’s alright. We can take on at your own pace.” I briefly considered what to say next when Spike blinked and shielded his eyes, looking far off.

“What’s that?” Spike pointed off to the distance, drawing our attention. “Is that smoke?” Sure enough, a dark cloud was rising into the air, from somewhere far away. Sable shaded his eyes with a wing as he looked that way, before facing me, his face suddenly a mask of concern.

“My home is that way.” Together we darted into the air, gaining height to see where the smoke was coming from. It did appear to be coming from Sable’s hovel.

“We should hurry!” We would have to leave Spike behind, but he’d be fine.

“Go!” Sable waved me on. “You’re faster than me, I’ll catch up! Go!” I didn’t hesitate, flying away with all the speed I could muster. I didn’t look back as Ponyville passes below me in a blur. At the very least I thought I could save his home.

It was, in fact, Sable’s home at the source of the smoke. Flames danced up the willow out front, and the house itself was emitting great bouts of black smoke. I was not the first pony to arrive, several other pegasi had reached the disaster first, I saw them dipping buckets into the pond and pouring the water onto the roof or throwing it into the tree. I looked around quickly where I hovered, there didn’t seem to be any more significant threat to the town, just Sable’s hovel on fire.

At least I knew there wasn’t anypony inside, Sable lived alone. Given time more pegasi would arrive, as well as any nearby unicorns or earth ponies who wanted to help, things here would be well under control shortly. That said, I realized it would take too long to put out the fire inside using just buckets, and my heart dropped when I realized this meant Sable would lose everything he had left of his family. Determined to resolve this quickly I looked about for a solution. Then I remembered one of Sable’s plan to repair his home’s foundation, and flew around the smoke cloud to where I could see the pond.

“Everypony get back!” The others looked to me, and seeing who it was, follow my orders. I wrapped a magic field around the water in the pond, lifting much of it at once, several small fish dropped out of my bubble and back into what was left of the pond below. I hauled the globe of water over the house and tree. “Is everyone out of the way?” I looked at the pegasi in the area, everyone seemed pretty calm and well out of the way, my plan obvious to all of them. “OK, here goes! Watch out for steam!” I dropped the pond right over the fire. The house and the tree vanished under the torrent, the mailbox was knocked over by the onrush of water. Clouds of steam billowed up for several moments, obscuring my view.

The steam clouds dispersed, and I looked around to make sure all the pegasi in the area were still alright. Everypony was far enough back to be safe, and I let out a relieved breath. With the emergency resolved I then took a look at the house.

From up here, it looked like there wasn’t much left, the poor house had been gutted by the flames and almost flattened by my water drop. The willow didn’t fare much better, between the fire and my flood it was reduced to little more than a matchstick. I landed beside where the garden had been to inspect the damage up close. The building took the blow pretty hard, the lean was much more pronounced than it had been, and the roof had imploded. Of the garden, I was sure nothing survived. I doubted it would be safe for anypony to go in without reinforcing the structure. Several pegasi landed nearby as I circled towards the front door. I asked them all to stay outside, repeating to them my observations about the stability of the home.

Having said that, I established a shield over myself and stepped inside to check on Sable’s valued objects, I could quickly teleport out if the roof gave in. The inside was worse than I would have thought. There was substantial fire damage, the bedding and rug were ash, the quilt on the wall burned away nearly wholly, the mannequin little more than a wire skeleton. The books were still smoking slightly, charred beyond use. The soldier battalion had been devastated, nearly entirely wiped out by the flames. Most of Sable’s curiosities were naught but charred lumps. My heart dropped, Sable lost everything again. I turned away but spotted something glint from the corner of my eye.

Underneath where one of the shelves fell over and covered in a pile of ash I found the strange silver mask I saw before. Miraculously it seemed to have fallen from its perch and been protected by the shelf that collapsed on top of it. It was remarkably undamaged further. I had no idea what it meant to Sable, but at least he got to keep it. Small comfort, I supposed. I retreated from the wreck of his hovel with the silver mask floating alongside, the other ponies outside all apparently waiting for me to return with bated breath.

“Well, there is no more danger here. Everpony can go home, I’ll deal with this now.” One by one the pegasi broke off, heading away now that the emergency was over. I sighed and looked back at Sable’s former home. If he hadn’t been planning on rebuilding before, he would be now. I knew I could get Applejack and the others to help with this, at the very least. Then I frowned, realizing Sable was not among the ponies who had arrived to help. Where was he? He had been right behind me. “Sable? Where are you?” I called out for him, but no one responded. He wasn’t there.

My ruminations were disturbed when my cutie-mark started to pulse and glow, I recognized the map was calling to me. For the first time, and hopefully the only time, I wished that the table was not summoning me. Right now I thought this was more important. Then the call became more urgent, my cutie-mark glowed an ominous red with each pulse. A terrible fear rose from within, the map was in danger!

* * *

_“Wait a minute, that just happened!”_

_“You’re right, I was about to check out what was making the smoke when the map called me.”_

_“So his home is gone? Oh no…”_

_“As bad as that was… is. What came next is more important.”_

* * *

 

I rushed back to the castle, flying as hard as I could. Where was Sable? He was nowhere in sight; I left his silver mask back at the ruins of his hovel. The castle came into view, there were flashing lights in the map room, the front door was shut. Spike wasn’t outside where I left him, Starlight Glimmer wasn’t visible either, they must have been inside. I landed in front of the door and uses my magic to fling it open. Or I tried to, they were sealed shut, resisting her.

I didn’t have time for this and just teleported inside. I blinked upon reappearing outside when my spell failed, someone set up a block against teleportation? Fine then, brute force it was. I ripped the doors off their hinges and flung them to the ground outside. Spike was curled up on the floor, grasping at his head, it was a good thing I didn’t blast the doors open, or he could have been hurt.

“Spike, are you alright?” I rushed to my sidekick’s side, but he was mostly unresponsive, although he was breathing and mumbled incoherently. Something rumbled from elsewhere, and the air seemed to shake with the power in the air. A familiar electric charge stood my hairs on end. What was going on?

I stampeded into the next room and stumbled right into a large crystal blocking my way. I blinked and backed up, there was something inside it. It was Starlight Glimmer, trapped by the spell Glimmer once used on me! She looked to be in pain, I broke the spell, and the crystal disintegrated harmlessly as Starlight Glimmer collapsed to the floor.

“Starlight! What happened here?” Glimmer looks up at me with worry, the pink unicorn couldn’t seem to focus her eyes. I helped her stand.

“It’s that purple unicorn.” Sable did this? “He attacked me.” She cringed. “Did something to my head, I can’t…” She stumbled again, and I stabilized her. “Gotta stop him.” She gestured with her head towards the map room. “I’ll be right behind you.” Last time I heard that… “Be careful, he’s smarter than I thought.” More dangerous at least. Could this be revenge for the party? I didn’t think he would go this far, and Starlight had nothing to do with it!

Now I charged into the map room, rebounding off a barrier in the doorway. He really didn’t want me getting in there. But the barrier was weak, and I broke through it with ease. Sable stood atop the map, his back towards me with wings spread wide, magic swirled around him with an ominous red aura.

“Sable!”

“You got back even faster than I expected.” He didn’t look back from whatever he was doing as he acknowledged my presence.

“Sable! What are you doing?!” I started to advance on him.

“Stay back!” lightning sparked out of the air around the table and struck the ground in front of me, there was a lot of power at work here.

“What did you do to Spike and Starlight?” I was livid, but he could still explain everything.

“Spike will be fine.” He continued his spellcasting, whatever he was doing was incredibly complicated. I could tell he was connecting his magic to the map’s. “I do apologize about Starlight Glimmer, but she had something I needed.” He did not explain further, still not looking back at me. I stepped closer “I said stay back!” A second barrier snapped into place around the map table, I hadn’t seen the magic circle on the floor. He must have been very desperate to set up so many defenses. “I sacrificed everything for this chance!”

“What do you mean?” I had a flash of understanding, the fire at Sable’s house was his own doing. “You burned your own home down?” He nodded, still not facing me. “Why?!” He did not answer, focused almost entirely on his spell. Enough of this. I teleported onto the table in front of him.

I blinked again in confusion as I materialized outside again. Re-directed? I didn’t know he knew how to do that. I flew back in through the wrecked door and the first few rooms, Spike was still curled up on the floor, Starlight appeared to be getting her second wind. The unicorn gave me a confused look as I darted past.

“Sable, Stop this!” I stamped a hoof on the floor to get his attention. He still refused to face me.

“I can’t stop. Not now!” His mane started to float, powerful magic currents whipped his coat and tail around.

“I recognize that spell!” I looked over my shoulder at Starlight half-stumbling into the room and staring agape at Sable. “That's my spell! The one I used to go back in time!” That was bad, really really bad. “He’s doing something strange with it, changing it somehow.” In any other circumstance, I would be impressed, outright changing a spell in the action of casting it is no simple trick. I only knew a handful of other ponies capable of changing powerful magic on the fly like that, one of them was in this room with me, and the others were all Alicorns.

“Sable, stop!” I whipped back around to face Sable again. “You don’t know what you are doing! That spell is way beyond you.”

“I know.” Only now did he turn towards me, his body lifted off the table under the spell’s power, lightning danced out of his eyes. Something silver and red glinted off his chest. “That is why I stole this.” It was the Alicorn Amulet! And it just got worse, where did he even find it? The last time I saw it, Zecora had taken it to hide it in the Everfree forest where it wouldn’t be a threat to anypony ever again.

“Take it off, Sable! It’s dangerous!”

“I know what it does. I only need to cast one spell.” This had to stop, casting a time travel spell while under the influence of the amulet could only end in disaster. I jumped onto the table, smashing through his barrier, ready to take him down if I had to.

“You’re my friend, Sable! Please, don’t make me do this!”

“Get back!” He grew more desperate, his spell wavered, he might have been losing control. His voice droped to a whisper, I could barely hear him. “No one has to die because of me.” I hesitated, just for an instant, and it was too late. The spell completed, the power gathering around him rushed into his body. He screamed, roared in pain, arching his back in agony. Something was very wrong with his magic. His wings twisted and shattered, forming a halo of glass shards about him. Lightning erupted from his eyes and mouth, uncontrolled and violent, burning lines across his face. The burns looked somehow familiar, as if I had seen the pattern before. More lightning lanced up from the table, burning into his flank where his mark should be.

The spell collapsed. For an instant I thought I could see a second figure where Sable floated, almost a shadow offset from where it should be. Then an arc of darkness, like the inverted corona of an eclipse, washed out from his body and enveloped us both. The shadow figure vanished, and everything exploded into light.

The force of the detonation flung me and Sable apart, he smashed through one of the thrones and against the castle wall, Starlight Glimmer managed to catch me with magic cushioning before I hit the opposite wall. Silence fell as the last rumblings of magic power began to fade. Glimmer’s face obscured my view, concern evident on her features.

“Twilight, are you alright?” She helped me to stand.

“I’m alright, just shaken.” Static discharges sparked off the map for a moment; fortunately, it seemed to be undamaged, although I knew I would have to make a more thorough examination later. I couldn’t say the same about Sable, he wasn’t moving. Slowly, carefully, I approached the prone figure by the wall, bits of smashed chair littered the floor. There were small cracks in the stone wall where he hit. “Sable? Can you hear me?” The pony on the floor did not respond.

“After the stunt he just pulled, you’re still worried about him?” Starlight Glimmer sounded more than a little upset, I couldn’t really blame her for that.

“Of course I am, he’s my friend.” The injured unicorn on the floor groaned and I returned my attention to him. Something the color of blackened charcoal sloughed off his body like a fine powder, I couldn’t tell what it was, and his coat dissolved into ash as he stirred. Slowly, confused and stiff, he turned over to face me. The marks previously burned into his face and body were gone, that was very strange. “Sable, are you hurt?” He blinked up at me, it was as if he didn’t recognize me.

“Sable? Who is that?” Now it was my turn to blink in confusion. I saw a flash of recognition in his eyes. “That’s… me? That's my name, isn’t it? Sable Stardust?”

 


	3. Restarted

_“So much more happened in that moment than any of us knew, or could even guess.”_

_“What do you mean?”_

_“…I don’t want to spoil the story just yet. I’ll get there, it all makes sense in the end, I think. From here on, everything I am about to say hasn’t happened yet. Most of it never will. This is where my timeline diverges from the real world.”_

_“So, why are you telling us at all?”_

_“Because I want you to know what happened. To me, to Sable… to all of you.”_

_“That’s alright Twilight, I understand.”_

_“Thanks, Fluttershy. Immediately after that…”_

* * *

“Starlight, go check on Spike, and then get the doctor.” Glimmer glared at me in annoyance.

“Why me?” She sounded positively indignant.

“Because I need to keep an eye on Sable.” I hoped I left enough implication of distrust over Stardust that Glimmer got the message without frightening the injured pony. Starlight Glimmer looked from me to the purple unicorn still prone on the floor and nodded before turning away and heading out at a run. The aforementioned purple unicorn tried to sit up but only fell back against the floor with a grunt of pain. “Just stay still, the doctor will be here in a few minutes.”

“I feel like a brick wall fell on me. What’s going on?”

“You don’t remember?” My eyes dropped to the Alicorn Amulet on Sable’s chest. “Would you mind taking off that amulet? It's not safe.” Sable felt around his neck, finding the chain. He lifted the amulet in front of his eyes, and flipped it around once, taking a long look at it. There was no sense the unicorn knew what it was. Without fanfare or complaint, he just removed it, and I let out a held breath as I quickly took it out of his reach, dropping it on the map table. Sable’s eyes drifted over the room from where he lay, despite the poor angle of vision he could still see the wreckage.

“What a mess, what happened here?” I briefly considered telling him at once, but something inside said that would be a poor decision.

“There was… an accident, you’re hurt.” My vague response satisfied his curiosity, for the moment at least.

“Why don’t I remember?” He sounded apprehensive, but it was not fear I heard in his voice, it was confusion and curiosity. It was as if this was all just a puzzle to him.

“While we wait for the doctor, tell me the last thing you remember.” I cleared away some of the rubble from the immediate area with a quick spell, and sat down, facing Sable. I stayed silent, letting him think.

“I was standing outside a door.” His eyes moved to the entryway and then darted around the room before coming to rest on me again.. “I think it was like one of those, and I was going to knock.” That could be today, or the first time he came to the castle. “Then, I saw you. I was envisioning… fire? And then we were in the air I think… I can fly?” He looked at his side, confused again. “I can’t fly, I’m a unicorn.” That was only a little while ago; maybe he had only temporarily lost his memory then. “Then you flew away, and I went back to the ground.” He seemed to be recovering, that's something at least. “I passed a little dragon, did something… I can’t remember, and he fell over.” He tried to stand again I restrained him with magic, I didn’t want him aggravating some injury. “Is he alright? The little dragon person? Spike? I didn’t hurt him did I?”

“Spike will be fine.” I hoped. “Please, continue.”

“I went into the next room. There was another unicorn. I said ‘You have something I need.’” His eyes glazed over for an instant. “I… I took something, I don’t know what or why. I reached out and… nothing, it’s all a flash of light after that.” Now he looked up at me, very clearly frightened. “I did this? Didn’t I?”

“I’m not going to hurt you, don’t worry. You’re my friend.” I spoke softly, setting a gentle hoof on his shoulder. I wasn’t sure this helped, although he did seem to calm. What indeed did not help was Rainbow Dash suddenly zipping into the room at speed, stopping abruptly in mid-air directly over the table.

“Twilight! What’s wrong?! The door is pulled right off the castle?!” Dash spotted Sable on the ground, surrounded by rubble and several piles of ash. She pointed accusingly. “You did this, didn’t you, Starbust!” I could tell she was using the insult intentionally.

“That's not my name.” Sable protested innocently and without anger, as before he seemed more confused than anything else. This startled me, last time Dash called him that his reaction was quite a bit more explosive. “It’s Sable Stardust. Isn’t it?” His casual attitude towards this knocked Dash off balance; she looked from Sable to me and back.

“What in tarnation is going on!” More ponies entered the room; Applejack was the first to speak, she was joined by Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie as they entered the room. Spike stumbled in alongside Rarity, looking like he had a headache, but otherwise alright.

“Everyone, calm down. The situation is under control.” I turned to face them, standing between them and Sable. They all stopped and looked around the room, taking in the damage.

“We all felt the table calling to us, would you care to explain what was so urgent?” At Rarity’s question, I looked back at Sable, who was taking this all in rapt attention.

“It’s… complicated. Just give me a minute.” I leaned down to speak quietly to him. “Please, stay here and try not to move.” He nodded, eyes darting from one pony to the next, he didn’t seem to recognize them either. I herded the others to the opposite side of the table and kept my voice low. “Sable was doing something to the map. Starlight thinks he was trying to time travel.” Spike gave me a look that said he knew I left out the part where Sable attacked him but did not speak.

“Isn’t that incredibly dangerous?” Rarity gasped.

“And where did Starlight go?” Pinkie interrupted.

“Very, very dangerous. Starlight went to get the doctor. Sable’s spell failed, something went wrong, and now he’s hurt.”

“Oh dear, is he alright?” This from Fluttershy as she looked over the table at the purple unicorn, himself straining to see over the map in the way without injuring himself further.

“I think he wiped his own memory by accident.” I shook my head.

“What do you mean by that?” I suspect Dash understood despite the question.

“He barely even remembers his name.” Rarity gasped again. “I don’t know what he was trying to do here, but the map clearly thought it was in danger.” I shook my head again, this time trying to clear it. “Everything happened so fast. I’m just as lost as you.” Something made a popping noise from outside, and I heard Starlight complaining loudly. Sable’s teleport re-direction spell must have still been active; I was going to have to fix that too. The others heard it also, and we all waited for a few short moments for Starlight and the doctor to arrive.

“There, that's him.” Glimmer entered the room looking a little disheveled, being redirected during a long-range teleport with passengers can be rough, and she pointed to Sable on the other side of the room. The doctor followed her in and rushed to Sable’s side to begin examining him. “Oh good, everyone is here. Did you tell them what he did?” Starlight stepped closer to the group.

“Most of it.” Starlight affixed me with a withering glare, suspecting I may have left something important out.

“And the part where he attacked me?” The others joined Starlight in staring at me, all demanding the full story.

“Yes, I was going to get to that, eventually.” Glimmer urged me to continue with an irritated wave of her hoof. “Sable didn’t know any time travel spell, so he trapped her in crystal, and I think he somehow stole hers right out from Starlight’s mind. I think he regrets it now.”

“He will when I’m done with him.” Glimmer huffed.

“I didn’t even know that was possible, stealing knowledge right out of someone’s mind?” Rarity was aghast at the possibility.

“It’s pretty dark magic. Most books that even mention the subject don’t include the spell itself, too dangerous. They are probably right.”

“So what are we going to do with him now?” Dash presumably meant to punish him, based on her tone. I hung my head.

“I think he’s being punished enough already.”

“There’s no way he gets off scot-free for this! I don’t care how sad his story!”

“Isn’t the loss of everything he’s got enough punishment?”

“What do you mean?” Fluttershy at least seemed willing to listen. I stepped closer and lowered my voice so Sable wouldn’t overhear.

“His house just burned down.” Applejack winced, and Fluttershy seemed close to tears, Rarity and Spike didn’t know what to say. “There’s not much left.” Everypony seemed pretty down.

“So that’s what that smoke was.” Dash said it matter of factly. For once, Pinkie Pie was silent; there were no jokes to be made now.

“Why did he do this? I thought he was your friend?” Rarity’s expression was one of pure disbelief. “I know he was angry with us, but I didn’t think he would do something like this.” The white unicorn waved at the map room now in disarray. “Even outright attacking Starlight Glimmer!”

“Yeah, he got me too.” Spike spoke up. “Just knocked me out though. I’m alright now.”

“Only he can answer that, or maybe he can’t. Although I have a theory.” I considered telling them everything Sable told me, but that promise I made not to reveal his secrets sat heavily on me. The others waited for me to continue. “He told me something when I went to talk to him the other day, and it might be related.” I paused to consider how to phrase it. “The short version is there was an accident he blames himself for, and I think he was trying to go back and undo it.” The others fell silent, and I hoped my vague answer was enough for the time being.

“It must have been a truly awful mistake to risk messing up history.” Starlight shuddered, uncomfortable with the topic of time travel, I knew it reminded her of her own great mistake.

“For him, at least, it was.” I was saved from further explanation by the doctor coming up behind me, with a stiff looking Sable in tow. I noticed Sable limping when he put weight on his right foreleg. I addressed the doctor. “How is he?”

“He’ll be sore for a few days, and he twisted an ankle, but he’ll be fine in time.” Now the doctor turned back to face Sable. “Remember to take it easy, that cracked rib will give you trouble if you strain it. If it gets worse, don’t hesitate to come on down to the hospital.” Sable nodded, and the doctor excused himself to get back to the hospital. Sable looked at each of my friends, his gaze stopped on Spike and Starlight, and it was to them that he spoke first.

“If I could explain why I did those things, I would.” He bowed deeply towards them, as best he could. “I am sorry.”

“I’m alright now, I accept your apology.” Spike at least was willing to forgive. Starlight was more resistant, holding her head high and glaring down at him. After another tense moment, her expression softened, I assumed she recognized the need for second chances, having needed one herself.

“Very well.” She sighed. “Just, don’t do it to anyone else, ever again.” Sable brought his head back up, and I could see then he was taller than I had thought, he was always hunched over or hanging his head. I gestured to the gathered ponies.

“Sable, do you remember my friends? Anything at all?” Sable swept his eyes over each of them again. They didn’t seem familiar to him as far as I could tell. He tilted his head slightly and squinted when he focused on Pinkie Pie.

“Why do I get the feeling that whenever we meet, I somehow end up in pain?”

“Uh…” Pinkie squirmed uncomfortably. “…Really bad luck?”

“Alright then.” Somehow her non-explanation satisfied him. “Let me see if I have your names right.” He looked towards the orange earth pony. “You are… Applejack, yes?”

“That’s right.” She tipped her hat.

“And… Rarity?” He faced the white unicorn.

“You are correct.”

“I believe you are Fluttershy?” This to the yellow pegasus.

“Very nice to meet you.” He nodded, and I was pleased that Fluttershy was allowing him to treat this as a first meeting. Then he looked over at the blue pegasus. He eyed her for a moment, confused.

“I want to say Rainbow… crash.” The mare with the multicolored mane made to complain with an irritated expression before he corrected himself. “No, Dash.” She fixed a scolding eye on him.

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

“…maybe.” He smiled wryly. This itself surprised me, I did not expect him to joke about names after the last time. “Spike.” He nodded towards the dragon, who nodded back. “And Starlight… Shimmer?”

“Glimmer. We’ve never actually met yet, peacefully.”

“Oh, do me next! Can you guess me?” The energy in the pink earth pony’s mood was already returning.

“Pinkie Pie.” He said with a low moan, his annoyed feelings over her appeared to be one thing he did recall. “And, of course…” Now he swiveled his head towards me. For a long moment, he only stared, and I began to find the silence uncomfortable. “I’m sorry. But I don’t remember.”

“It’s… Twilight Sparkle.” I said it sadly.

“I understand that I am familiar to all of you.” Sable swung his gaze over all of them. “However, to me this our first meeting, so please allow me to introduce myself again. My name is Sable Stardust. I think.” Twilight smiled, as the ice seemed to finally break. Maybe this time, everything would turn out for the better between us. “Now, if anypony wouldn’t mind, I think I need to go lie down for a while.” He started to turn around as if to leave and looked around the room. He did this for a moment before turning back, looking just as confused as ever. “Does anypony know which way my home is?” Twilight grimaced, everypony looked uncomfortable.

“About that…” I hesitated when he looked my way. “Maybe it would be better to show you.”

* * *

_“His memory is gone? Shouldn’t we go check on him?”_

_“No, he’s fine. He didn’t lose his memory. Well OK, he did, but not this time.”_

_“Uh…”_

_“Let me try to explain it to them, Twilight. The Sable Stardust we know, the one who Twilight let go home, he’s fine. The one in the story, that’s the one who lost his memory. They are not the same pony anymore.”_

_“Oh, OK. That makes sense now. I think.”_

_“Time travel is so confusing.”_

* * *

“Welcome home, Sable Stardust. To what’s left of it anyways.” I waved to the little building.

“You can’t be serious. This is my house?” Sable stared, with confusion and utter disbelief, at the wreck in front of him. The once sad little house was now nothing more than a gutted out ruin. The roof was sagging in, the walls were badly cracking, the door was lying on the ground out front, and the entire structure leaned dangerously to the side. The willow out front resembled a used matchstick more than a tree. “What happened?”

“I’m sorry Sable. When I saw the smoke, I tried to save it, but it was too late. By the time I got here, it was pretty much all gone.” Secretly I had hoped seeing it would jog his memory, possibly even help provide answers. Sable stepped forward, looking into the blacked room and the roof.

“This is unacceptable, look at the roof.” He frowned, disapprovingly. “It could come down at any moment.” Without further fanfare he wrapped the ruins of the roof in his magic, the burned wood and tiles began to fall apart as he easily ripped the roof off the building and hurled it into the hillside. The roof crumbled into a pile of twisted beams and splinters. “Come on, let’s see what survived.” This display of casual power startled everypony; I did not think he had that kind of strength in him at all, let alone so soon after the accident. Although this was not the first time that day he surprised me. He limped towards the free-standing walls.

Together we gathered what little remained of Sable’s things out of the ashes. There was never all that much there to begin with, and almost nothing was left, it didn’t take long. Solemnly we piled what could generously be said to have survived the fire on a makeshift table fashioned from the front door. His mother’s quilt was little more than the topmost edge and some threads. His mannequin nothing but a twisted wire frame. The clock’s structure was mostly intact, but the fragile wooden innards were just ashes, and the face was severely warped. The battalion of toy soldiers was reduced to a sole survivor, missing its right foreleg, and I recognized it as the same one that was knocked off the shelf on our first visit. There were also a few of the pans from his little stove, and the stove itself. The small collection of books was charred beyond all recognition. Although it was now somewhat scorched, the ceramic bowl was still in pretty good shape, and it was the only thing here that could be called salvageable.

Sable looked down at his miserable little pile of objects, with an expression I couldn’t truly read. He picked up each object in turn, turning them over in front of his eyes. I couldn’t tell if he was determining if they were worth keeping, or if he remembered something important about them. I could only hope it was the latter. Once he had gone through each item, he looked up, at me first and then the others.

“Do you remember any of it?” It was Fluttershy who asked.

“Bits, pieces. A few long nights spent working. Disappointment?” He sighed and looked back and his former home. “Is this really everything I’ve got left?” I took my own inventory; this was almost everything I had seen at his house before. Something was missing.

“Actually, there is one more thing.” I looked around as the others glance my way quizzically. I spotted the glint of silver over by the tree, where I had dropped it earlier. I lifted the mask out of the mud and brought it back, cleaning it off in the process. Sable took it from me when I offered it to him. “I took a look inside just after the fire, and this was the only thing that looked undamaged.” Sable lifted it up in front of him, turning it over and around, as he had the other items. “Do you recognize it?”

“It was a gift. From… somepony important I think. I remember… a magenta pegasus? Sereina?” He set the mask down and looked up at the group gathered around the makeshift table, looking for somepony not there. “Does that name mean anything to you?” My heart dropped, the way he had spoken of her before was so tender and caring. Now he sounded cold and dispassionate.

“No, I’ve never heard it before.” None of them would have, Sable only spoke to me about it, and I, in turn, did not tell them.

“It’s no one you’ve mentioned to us.” Sable sighed when Rainbow Dash and Rarity confirm they didn’t know her, the same way he used to, annoyed and tired. I bit the urge to speak out, my previous promise still fresh in my mind, and uncertainty about how he might take the reveal about his family kept me from speaking.

“To be honest, we don’t really know all that much about your history.” This was Applejack speaking now. “You didn’t talk to us about your past.”

“Yes, we shared only a few conversations, we only met fairly recently. I am so sorry.” He nodded at Fluttershy but did not look up. Silence fell between them for a long moment. “What are you going to do now?”

“I…” Sable began to shake, exhaustion, the weight of his situation, or both, starting to weigh him down. “I don’t know.” He looked down at his hooves, quivering. “I don’t know.” He turned back towards the wreck of his hovel. The last of his control left him, and he broke down, collapsing in a heap. Tears rolled down his face; he didn’t try to hide them. I went to his side, and sat down next to him, placing a hoof on his shoulder. A moment later Fluttershy took her place just beside him. Neither spoke. That morning, had we done this; I was confident Sable would have tossed us aside or walked away, rejecting such sympathy as unwanted pity.

“I don’t know how, but we are going to fix this.” I looked back; it was Pinkie Pie of all ponies. “We might not have known you before, but we can know you again.”

“Pinkie is right.” Rainbow Dash was the next to speak, her voice filling with resolve. “You and I didn’t get along before, but we can start over, for real this time. If there’s anything I can do to help you get your memory back, I’ll do it. Rainbow Dash doesn’t leave a friend behind!” Then Applejack, Rarity, Spike, Even Starlight Glimmer, one by one, all voiced agreement. Fluttershy didn’t speak, but when Sable looked at her, she nodded deeply. I couldn’t help but feel pride and joy towards them. Sable was speechless, and could only smile weakly towards them.

“Don’t be afraid, Sable, Don’t give up hope.” Sable finally looked up at me now, his neon blue eyes full of tears meeting mine.

“Thank you.” His voice had cracked, and he looked out at his hovel’s wreck. “After all, hope is all I’ve got.”

* * *

_“So, I guess I should start making plans to help him rebuild.”_

_“That's very generous of you, Applejack.”_

_“I did offer to help, already.”_

_“Let us not get hung up on that detail at this time. There’s plenty of story ahead.”_

* * *

 The next few days passed slowly. I invited Sable to stay in one of the many empty rooms the castle possessed until he recovered his memories, at the very least until he could rebuild his house, and he accepted. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie spent some of those days spending time with Sable, mostly just talking about the town in an effort to jog something loose. Fluttershy and Applejack helped him get used to life again, with the simple things like making meals and cleaning. Starlight Glimmer, and to a lesser extent Rarity, helped him recover some of his magical spells.

I buried my nose in my books, my first recourse to any predicament. This time, however, I had somewhere to start, memory spells. Loss of memory was a well-researched phenomenon, and numerous spells were suggested to restore them. Unfortunately, those spells are focused on physical damage to the brain, and for some reason when I tried them on Sable, they outright failed. The other spells I found, those based on magical causation of memory loss, were significantly rarer and always functioned only as a response to the specific magic used to manipulate the mind in the first place. I wasn’t even sure what actually happened in front of me that caused Sable’s memory to be removed, Starlight Glimmer was equally lost on this front, and the two of us couldn’t agree on which spells might help him most or at all.

Sable Stardust, for his part, managed his lost life with surprising resilience. Aside from the breakdown at his old hovel, he handled himself rather well. At one point Pinkie asked him why he didn’t seem more upset, and he responded that he could mope about the castle and weep loudly, but that it wouldn’t solve anything, so why bother. I admit that did seem to be in keeping with Sable’s old personality, so at least he wasn’t entirely reset. In fact, he still knew how to talk and perform many simple tasks. From my reading, it seemed as though what happened to him was not the usual form of amnesia. Not really memory loss so much as I would call it a loss of personal history. What little he did remember didn’t seem to be particularly selective either, it was as though something tore random selections of his mind and threw them to the wind.

Somepony knocked on the library door, and I looked up to see Sable standing there. He cast his gaze around the large room, every wall covered in bookshelves, in stark amazement. I waved him in with a smile.

“So many books. Have you read them all?”

“Most. If you want you can always come here to read anything you want. Be warned, most of them are stuffy academic texts, rather than novels if that is what you are looking for.”

“Somehow, I get the feeling I should stay away from fiction at the moment. I wouldn’t want to confuse fantasy for reality.”

“That's… surprisingly wise of you.”

“Oh, really?” He frowned slightly, and I realized that he used to always be just at the edge of frowning. At this moment he was indistinguishable from his old self. “Why surprising?”

“I just meant that most ponies who lose their memory wouldn’t have thought about it that way. That's all. So what can I help you with?”

“Well, mostly I was just wondering what you’ve been up to. I haven’t seen much of you, and your friends… our friends.” He corrected himself in a way I approved of. “They have been keeping me distracted with what feels like mindless busywork.”

“I didn’t realize I was being distant. I’m sorry.” I dipped my head; he nodded in response. “I was researching your condition.”

“Is luck on my side today?”

“I don’t know for sure. The form of damage is often specific to the incident which caused it, so few cases share many similarities. There are some spells which might help, but I don’t want to promise a quick solution.” He raised an eyebrow. “These spells are very specialized, based primarily on what magic was used to cause the damage.”

“Ah, and because we don’t know what did it in the first place…” He’s a quick learner, or maybe latent knowledge seeping to the surface.

“If you would like I could try one.” He paced across the room, and I saw his gaze wander across the shelves of books aimlessly, he must have been considering my offer.

“I appreciate the offer.” I opened the book on the table again, searching for one of the proper spells. “However, I would feel better if Starlight were here as well.” This stung a bit, as if he doubted my abilities. “I have watched her as she casts spells, and she appears to be very skilled. And frankly, I don’t know enough about you to be sure if you know what you are doing.” That's very cautious of him, if misinformed.

“She is outstanding, that’s a fact. But I’m just as much a master spellcaster as she is, probably even better.” He affixed his eyes on me, and I got the feeling he was judging my truthfulness.

“In that case, let me re-qualify my earlier statement. I would like another pair of eyes to watch, in case something else goes wrong.” This was the proper caution. I nodded and lifted the book with the memory spells from the table.

“Let us go find Starlight Glimmer then.” We set out, hoping to find Starlight still in the castle. I sifted through what Starlight last told me about her plans; she had intended to go to the Crystal Empire today to meet with Sunburst, although she might still be here. We searched the castle, heading to Starlight’s room and knocking, she did not respond. We went to the kitchen, and then the map room. It was here we found Spike, reading a comic. “Spike! Have you seen Starlight?” The dragon marked his spot with a finger and looked up and around.

“Not since earlier, she said she would be back in a few days. Is it important?”

“Depends on the given value of important.” Sable spoke before I could. “It can wait until she returns.” Now he turned to me as Spike returned to his comic. “I hope you don’t mind, but I really would prefer to have somepony else here while you go rummaging through my head, who has some idea of what you are doing.”

“That is perfectly reasonable.”

“Besides, it's not like my head is going anywhere.” Spike chuckled, I wasn’t sure if he was laughing at Sable’s joke or something in his book. Sable sighed, familiarly, and turned away.

“Sable?” He looked back at me. “How about we go walk through town? I can show you around.” He hesitated, and I guessed at his reasoning. “You might be stuck this way for a while. You’ll have to re-learn where everything in town is eventually.” He seemed surprised but did not correct me.

“You are right.” He looked up at the chandelier. “I am getting a little tired of being cooped up in here anyway.”

“Spike, do you want to join us?” I set my spellbook on the table for later. He waved a dismissive claw at us.

“Nah, I’m good. You two have fun.” So together Sable and I headed out, Sable blinked in the bright sunlight of midday as we left the Castle. He hesitated slightly but kept up with me.

I escorted him into the town proper, pointing out the various landmarks and shops. As we walked, I noticed something odd about the way he looked at the other ponies in town. It was as though he wasn’t looking at their faces, unwilling to meet them face to face.

“Why are they all looking at me like that?” He suddenly stopped in the middle of the street, backing away from several ponies going the other direction.

“Like what?” I looked around and realized what he meant. Each of the other ponies were staring at Sable as they passed us, some whispering to each other and murmuring, others with strange sad expressions. With a start I followed their gaze, Sable wasn’t wearing his coat anymore, having forgotten it even existed. His blank flank was free for everypony to see. I could see Sable realize this as well.

“It has to do with those symbols, doesn’t it?” He gestured to the star marks on my flank. “Everpony else has one, except for me.” Then he looked back at where his own should be. “Why is that?” I felt my pulse rising, how had I forgotten he didn’t have a cutie-mark? I looked around; there had to be somewhere…

* * *

_“You honestly forgot he didn’t have a mark?”_

  _“I was so focused on his loss of personal history and his memory that I just didn’t think about it.”_

_“Not your best moment.”_

_“It really wasn’t. Fortunately, I know a pony with just the right skillset to help in a situation like that.”_

* * *

 “Come on; we need to go see Rarity.” I trotted off, pausing only to make sure Sable was right behind me. He looked at me quizzically but followed. I led him through some of the less used streets, hoping to avoid the crowds, and over to the Carousel Boutique. We were lucky enough that there wasn’t anypony coming out as I opened the door. Sable looked around at the various outfits on display curiously. “Rarity? Are you here?” Moments later a voice emanated from the back room, where Rarity did most of her work.

“Twilight? Do you need something?” I led Sable back to find Rarity was in the process of assembling a green dress for some client. Rarity looked over the mannequin when we walked in. “Hello, Sable.” He gave her that now very familiar bow, where he dips his head while closing his eyes, that he uses as his primary greeting. It was one of the things that hasn’t changed since before the accident. “It’s good to see you up and about.”

“I think this may be the first time I have actually been in here.” He looked around again, taking in all the little details.

“That wouldn’t surprise me. I never saw you in here before. Please, have a look around and tell me if anything catches your eye.” He nodded slightly and wandered off to explore the boutique. Now Rarity turned to question Twilight. “I take it he is feeling better?”

“For the most part.” I lowered my voice a bit while Sable drifted out of earshot. “I was showing him around town, and well…” I pointed to my own mark, Rarity nodded in understanding. “The other ponies were beginning to stare, and it was making him uncomfortable.”

“I take it then that you would like me to make him something new to hide that fact?”

“If you would?” Rarity stepped closer, giving me a mildly concerned glare.

“You haven’t talked to him about it yet?”

“No, not yet. He’s still adjusting, and I don’t want to overload him with something this big just yet.” I looked over as Sable; he was inspecting one of Rarity’s sewing machines, using a spell to look inside the casing at the interior workings.

“So you expect him to start wearing something new, just because you say so? Without explanation?” I had no response. I hadn’t thought that far ahead. “I’m happy to make new outfits for him, but you might first want to find out if he wants them in the first place.” She looks back to the dress she was working on. “And you might want to do that soon; it won’t get any easier over time.” I turned slowly, only a little reluctantly, towards Sable. He was on the far side of the room now, holding up several scraps of brightly colored cloth over each other.

“So, Sable.” He tilted his head slightly towards me, not looking away from whatever he was doing with the scraps. “What are you up to?” I delayed the oncoming awkward conversation.

“This reminds me of something. I was sitting beside somepony, light blue, while they… she was working a loom. I think I was very young. She was showing me how it worked.”

“That’s great, you remember!” I perked up instantly. “That was your mother; she was a weaver.”

“Oh, she must have been the one working on that lovely quilt you used to have in your house.” Rarity set her work aside for the moment and came over to join our conversation. “Do you know why she never finished it?” I cringed, I was still hoping to avoid the topic of his family’s fate. Sable looked away from the cloth scraps towards the white unicorn.

“No. Not at all.” He shook his head slowly. Secretly I was pleased, and a little ashamed of that fact, that I wouldn’t have to have that conversation just yet.

“Do you remember anything else?” Sable set the cloth down and walked along the table, inspecting the sewing tools as he went.

“Nothing in specific. Yet… feelings. Disappointment mostly. Anger, and the sound of tearing fabric? Why?”

“I am afraid we don’t have the answer to that.” He looked away from Rarity, and I saw something simmering in his expression, somewhere between confusion and disappointment. I couldn’t tell if it was directed towards us, or himself. He fell silent again, and I spoke before things got awkward.

“So, I brought you here because I thought you might like to get a new coat. Yours was destroyed in the accident.”

“Ah. That would explain it.” He nodded, confirming something inwardly.

“Explain what?”

“Why I’ve felt so uncomfortable.” He searched for a word; I was starting to read his expressions more clearly.

“Vulnerable, exposed maybe?” I offered. He looked over his shoulder at me and nodded.

“I can help with that! Step this way, and we’ll see what I’ve got that goes with your colors.” Sable allowed Rarity to lead him back into the main room. Rarity positions him in front of her mirrors and over the next hour or so showed him the various outfits she had available, coats and otherwise. Fashion was not my specialty, so I remained out of the way.

I watched Sable carefully throughout the process. He seemed mildly distressed, twitchy even, whenever Rarity adjusted a piece of fabric he was wearing. He must not like being touched; I had assumed his previous withdrawals were due to the topic of conversation at the time. I would have to remember not to be physical with him. Pinkie Pie would undoubtedly need reminding.

“I appreciate the enthusiasm you are putting into this.” Sable interjected as Rarity draped more fabric over his side. “But I think I would prefer something a bit simpler.” Rarity paused, a measuring tape stretched from Sable’s neck to his ankle.

“Really? You’re sure?” She looked up at him, clearly disappointed.

“Yes. I just need something to keep me comfortable; I do not require high fashion in my day to day life.”

“There is value to simplicity.” I agreed with him, I preferred the less ornate ones even when I wore one of Rarity’s dresses.

“Oh well.” She was clearly disappointed. “I suppose if you want I can duplicate the coat you used to have.” Rarity finished taking his measurements and put her notepad aside after scribbling on it. “Can I at least add a blue trim to bring out the color of your eyes and that streak in your mane?” Sable looked at his reflection, presumably imagining Rarity’s suggestion. He frowned, and just before I could offer an opinion he suddenly materialized an illusion of a coat much like the one he used to wear onto the mirror’s surface. The image flickered, replaced with one that matches the description Rarity gave him. He looked from one mirror to the next, judging his appearance from the differing angles. The suggested coat is very much like his original, but the hem and each pocket was lined with a strip of blue that matched his eyes.

“It does look better than your plain black one if you don’t mind my opinion.” I offered.

“Very well.” He nodded. “I consent.”

“Wonderful!” Rarity headed back into the other room, the fabric she had draped over Sable following her. “Unfortunately, It will take a while to get your coat done, I have another order ahead of yours I really must finish first.”

“I understand.” Sable stepped away from the mirrors, stretching tensed muscles from the prolonged period of standing still. “She is certainly enthusiastic about clothes.”

“Everypony has something that satisfies them completely.” He lifted his head, looking at me from the corner of his eyes again. He was clearly considering my words carefully, and how they related to him. Whatever conclusion he came to, if he came to one at all, he did not share. “We should head back and let Rarity work.” At the very least he got a few memories back, it was a start. I blinked, and realized that if those little scraps of cloth brought back memories, then perhaps there was more I could do for him. “Wait here a moment, please.” I hurried into the back room, and Sable stayed behind with a bemused expression. “Rarity, can I borrow you for a minute longer?”

“Oh? For what?” Quietly, I told Rarity my plan. My white unicorn friend seemed hesitant. “Alright, but just for a few minutes, and I’m not going anywhere with them.”

“Thank you, if this works it will be worth the effort.” Rarity nodded and braced herself. I went back in my mind, remembering the details of a spell I hadn't used in a long time and began to cast. A translucent blue ribbon appeared in the air and wrapped itself around Rarity, like a cocoon. When the shell was whole, a glowing orb of light emitted from my horn and touched the ribbon, pulsing brightly and making a low boom as the spell completed. As I caught my breath, I noted Sable entering the room, curious about the sound.

“Well Sable, does this remind you of anything?” Rarity flourished her mane as the shimmering ribbon vanished. She floated gently, held aloft by two large butterfly wings made of gossamer and morning dew. Sable stared at them; I could see the reflection of the wings in his eyes, and perhaps something else as well. Ambition?

“I see.” Sable laughed, a whole and healthy laugh. I heard him do that only once before. He looked from Rarity and her wings to me and smiled. He backed away from us, giving himself room, and closed his eyes to focus better. I watched him intently as he began to cast his spell. I had never seen him actually cast this, and wanted to see how he managed it. His neon blue magic formed an aura around him…

The spell created black reflective panels around him, instead of a blue ribbon. Each pane folded up and around his body, lifting him from the floor and enveloping him entirely until they formed a twelve-sided diamond around him, floating in mid-air. The air filled with an electric charge; tiny sparks jumped off the diamond in the neon blue color of Sable’s magic. Cracks formed on the shell, and I worried he miscast the spell, but then the glass shattered into a million little stars. I had to blink against the afterimage as the tiny points of light coalesced on Sable’s shoulders and formed themselves into the shape of a pair of wings. A moment later and the light faded back to natural levels, Sable’s glass wings flapped twice, and he held them wide, landing softly where he had been hovering.

I had been impressed when he first told me he had changed the wing spell, but I had no idea what went into it. His variant only barely resembles the original, it was almost an entirely new spell. Only at the most basic conceptual levels did it resembles the first one. I might even have been able to help him refine it further…

“There we go.” He panted hard; the spell drained most of his stamina. “That’s better.” He had to stand with his legs spread wide to avoid falling over.

“Bravo! Bravo!” Rarity applauded, then landed and kept herself firmly on the floor.

“Sable, you did it!” I couldn’t help myself and rushed to give him a hug.

“Ow, ow! Ribs, watch the ribs!” I let him go, mildly embarrassed. Other than straining his injury, he didn’t seem to have minded the sudden hug. He nodded deeply to each of us. “Thank you.” He flapped his glass wings again, and I saw the tiny pinpricks of light on the underside of each panel flicker with the motion. “Both of you.”

* * *

_“So he could recover his lost past. That’s reassuring.”_

_"It turned out to be more complex than that. But yes, he was quite happy to have his wings back.”_

_“I’m still a little confused why he even bothers. Does he want to be an Alicorn?”_

_“Well, it is sort of a dream for everypony, isn’t it?”_

_“I think it’s because it makes him feel… special somehow. In a good way, unlike his blank flank.”_

_“Yeah, I can understand that.”_

* * *

The wind rushed beneath our wings, in Ponyville far below Rarity chose not to join them in the air and returned to her work. Sable grinned like a foal in a candy store, swooping and diving through or around clouds, engaging in impromptu races with me, and otherwise enjoying for the first time the ability to fly again. He was right, those days ago just before the incident, he was nowhere near as quick as I was. I guessed Fluttershy would give him a run for his money, and she had never been a particularly strong flyer. If this fact bothered him in the slightest, he didn’t show it.

Rarity’s warning lingered in my mind. I still hadn’t talked to him about his missing cutie-mark or his history, which only I knew now. Sable swung past me again, pure unadulterated joy evident in his expression. I didn’t want to ruin his happy moment, perhaps another time.

“It would seem luck really is on my side today.” He pulled up out of a dive not far from me, hovering in place. His wings didn’t seem to function entirely like normal pegasus wings; he didn’t have to flap to hold position the way others do, for instance. I wondered how much of his low flight speed was due to the limits of the spell or the limits of his knowledge on flight mechanics. “I didn’t know how much I didn’t know.” I laughed but took note how tense he looked.

“We should probably land soon. You don’t want to strain your ribs anymore today.”

“I don’t think I have to actually use muscles or exert real effort to fly, the spell does most of that for me.”

“You don’t want to break the spell either, those wings are pretty fragile, and it’s a long way down.” At this second warning, he looked down, and I could see him measuring the distance to the ground far below. He rolled his eyes and started to descend, and I kept level with him as we dropped lower.

“Not that fragile.” I almost bet to myself he would continue even knowing the risk. “But you are right.” So I lost that bet.

“You clearly remember how the wing spell works, but what else did you get back? Anything interesting?” He shrugged, his wings continued to hold out rigidly to the side independently of his stance, it was a little uncanny. We set down in the park, I looked around and realized we were not far from where they met that night.

“It’s hard to say.” He flapped his wings and folded them, before unfolding again. “I remember now, seeing Rarity’s butterfly wings for the first time, and reading the spell in a book. But nothing else concrete.” He looked back at his right wing, inspecting it in the sunlight. “Feelings and emotions. Angry outbursts when I couldn’t get it right. Determination, a refusal to give up, the desire to make it better.” He twisted the wing all the way around, and I cringed, real bones would snap trying to turn a wing like that.

I stepped closer, to take an even better look at the structure. He was so engrossed in examining his right wing that he didn’t notice me. From this distance, I could see the wing itself didn’t physically connect to his body, the panel that would be the equivalent of the humerus bone in standard wings floated just above his shoulder. Each pane of magic glass hovered in place just barely disconnected from the others; no panel touched any other. As I realized this, he began to twirl each panel independently on his right wing. Despite knowing there was no physical link between each feather structure I cringed again anyways. On a real limb, this would be tantamount to breaking every bone and tearing every muscle; the damage would probably be irrevocably beyond repair.

Clearly, his spell agreed, as his right wing suddenly shattered when he turned what should be the radius bone at a ninety-degree angle from where it should go. The crack of breaking glass was depressingly familiar to me at this point. The burst of light and sound stumbled both of us, and the unbalanced magic caused his left wing to explode as well. I managed to remain standing despite getting a face full of magical glass; Sable wasn’t quite as lucky. I had to blink repeatedly before the spell dissipated altogether, it was a good thing the spell had no cutting force to it, or I might have needed a trip to the hospital.

“Well, that was fun.” Sable grumbled sarcastically from where he ended up on the ground. “Just as a side note, that stings when it breaks.”

“It hurts? Can you stand?” I extended a helping hoof, guessing he would have preferred not to be simply picked up using magic.

“I think so.” He struggled to his feet on his own. I sadly withdrew my aid. He cringed, holding one arm over his chest. “It would appear you were correct. I do believe I have pushed my luck a little far.”

“Do you need me to get the doctor?”

“No, no. I’ll be alright. Just let me rest a moment.” He sat down near the top of the hill, the same one from the other night, and looked out over the town. I wondered if this was just coincidence, or if his subconscious recognized this place. Sable closed his eyes and raised his head, letting the warm sun and the cool breeze wash over him. He slowed his breathing, relaxing after the excitement of recovering his wing spell.

It was relaxing out there, and I set myself down nearby, but not too close, to wait until he was ready to move again. He sat in silence for so long I wondered if he had fallen asleep. His breathing was certainly slow and measured enough. Then a bird sang nearby, and he looked towards it for a moment, before returning to his resting state. He seemed comfortable enough, and I noticed that it was already past lunchtime. I knew there was a pony with a snack cart which goes through the park around then and headed off to find them. I returned a few minutes later with a pair of sandwiches and drinks to see Sable where I left him; he didn’t seem to have moved.

“Are you hungry?” He blinked and focused on me when I walked up. “I’ve got apple and pear, want one?” He nodded, still silent, and took the pear sandwich from me, as well as the proffered water. I recalled that he had fresh pears the day we met, they might have been his favorite fruit. He ate in silence, seemingly lost in thought. I finished my lunch before he spoke.

“I believe I am ready to go.” He stood, rather suddenly. “We should head back to the castle.”

“Do you want to fly there?” I stood alongside him. He looked down at his hoofs.

“Not really. Don’t get me wrong; I’m thrilled to have my spell back. But…” He shook his head vigorously. “The spell is draining, and I still feel exposed.”

“That’s probably because you don’t have your coat anymore. We never saw you without it.” He tilted his head, and I suspected he caught my hesitation. I had almost said ‘until we did.’ That conversation is still one I didn’t want to have. He did not push any further and walked away towards the castle. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding and followed. We kept to back streets to stay out of sight. Once back inside he headed towards the library. “Anywhere you want to start?” I waved a hoof at the massive bookshelves.

“That's, almost, a stupid question.” He gives me a sly half smile. “I don’t have a clue.”

“Hmm…” I let the minor insult pass. “I have an idea.” I headed to the ‘A’ section and pulled down my copy of Astronomical Astronomer’s Almanac to All Things Astronomy. He took the tome from me and read the cover, before raising an eyebrow towards me. “Just a feeling.”

“…Right.” He seemed suspicious towards me for some reason.

“What else…” I let my eyes wander across the book spines, reading off the titles to myself. “A basic history of Equestria might be helpful…” I pulled down several books on the subject. I recalled his broken clock and plans to reinforce his hovel’s foundation. “An engineering textbook…” and then I pulled down subject after subject from the shelves and handed them over to Sable, inwardly justifying my choices. I did avoid the topic of Cutie-marks. I continued this way for several moments before he interrupted.

“Twilight, enough.” I looked back; he was already balancing a fairly large stack of books over each shoulder, even more were already piled around him so deep it almost buried him. “I think I’ve got plenty to keep me busy for a while.” I blinked and looked up at the shelves, and saw I’d emptied several of them without thinking. I gave him an embarrassed laugh.

* * *

_“Always with the books.”_

_“Hey! Books help… sometimes.”_

_“You do know you had to have that conversation with him eventually?”_

_“And I did. That’s next.”_

* * *

 That evening Sable joined Spike and me for dinner, physically if not mentally. He brought with him half a dozen books on as many subjects, all levitating around him at once, I spotted one book I hadn’t given him earlier. The unicorn didn’t speak more than a courtesy hello before burying himself in the tomes. He devoured the knowledge instead of his meal, flipping through the books at a pace so rapid I seriously doubted he was really reading it at all. No effort I made could pry him from the pages; Spike equally met failure to engage him in conversation. After a few minutes, we left him to his reading to turn towards our own discussion. When we finished our meals, I looked up to find he had gone from the table without either of us noticing, somewhere in there he found time to eat as his plate was empty.

When the plates were washed and put away, I returned to the library, fully expecting to find Sable there engrossed in more books. I discovered my library silent and empty, most of the books from earlier stacked neatly on the table. I looked over some old scrolls, Starlight Glimmer’s friendship lessons, and started adapting them to help Sable. The lessons they were supposed to teach may not have been of direct value to recovering his memory, but they might be able to help him open up to others. It was only when I yawned and looked up to see the moon through a high window that I realized how late it had gotten. I put the scrolls aside for tonight and headed out to go to bed. I walked to my bedroom and stopped when a cold draft blew down the hallway, had I left a window open? I followed the breeze to the balcony doorway and found the dark purple unicorn looking up at the stars, his front hooves on the railing.

“Sable? What are you doing up this late?” He startled, dropping off the railing and looking over his shoulder. I spotted the astronomy book I gave him earlier on the stone.

“Good evening.” He nodded in greeting. “I was just… lost in thought.”

“Keyword: was.” I giggled softly. Sable blinked, not recognizing the joke he himself had made. I sighed. “Nevermind.” I stepped up beside him, when I approached he backed half a stride away. “You didn’t say much at dinner, did you get anything out of all those books?”

“Both yes, and no.” He did not immediately elaborate, and I remained silent. He’d say more if he wanted to. “Most of it is history, just not mine. I… know it… as if I read it in a book.”

“Uh, you did.”

“No, I mean… bah. Let me see if I can articulate this better. I remember knowing this, but it’s as if it was somepony else who knew it, and I read that on the page.” I didn’t get it, and he must have read my confusion in my blank stare. He lifted the Astronomy book. “Take this, for example. When I read this, I am almost overcome with emotion, sadness. But I don’t know why.” I did. “I remember this book meant something. But it doesn’t, it’s just text on a page.” I let my head droop; I had honestly expected him to remember something real. “It’s all very frustrating.”

“That does sound irritating. I wish I could help more.” He looked down at the pages, flipping through the book at random. I tried a new tactic, pointing to a prominent star in the constellation Orion. “Do you remember the name of that star?” He followed the line my hoof makes to the hunter’s shoulder.

“Betelgeuse. One of the brightest stars in the night sky.”

“See, you do know it. That’s good.”

“Rigel. Deneb. Canopus. Sirius. Polaris. Altair. Bellatrix. Dozens of others.” He pointed to a number of stars and rattled off names, at least a few inaccurately. “The names mean have no meaning to me, other than knowledge for its own sake.”

“Is there anything wrong with that?”

“I suppose not, in the end.” He returned his eyes to me. “But this is not the end, is it? So I ask you, how does it help?”

“I… I don’t know. I didn’t give you that so you could remember the names of stars, I gave it to you hoping you would remember your father.”

“My father?” He blinked and narrowed his eyes. I could see him sifting through his thoughts.

“He was an astronomer. Before the fire, I saw a copy of that book on your own bookshelf.” I gestured to the Almanac again. “After what you remembered about your mother at Rarity’s I thought it would help.” He paced, looking away from her for several long moments. I let him think.

“Why?” He paused in his pacing and looked at me again.

“Well, you made an association between the cloth and your mother’s loom…”

“No, I mean…” He interrupted. “Why are you putting so much effort into helping me?”

“You’re my friend. Do I need any other reason?”

“The others are all open about how little they knew of me. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash outright said they didn’t know me at all. I can tell the others are just throwing things at me blindly, hoping something sticks. But not you.” He stepped closer. “You present me with these books, not knowing but hoping they will retrieve specific memories. You knew about my wing spell. You say now you know my family. How is it you know so much more about me than I do? You even invited me into your own home. Why are you so… familiar to me?” He stopped advancing, just outside of arm’s reach. “What did we mean to each other?”

“To be honest…” I sighed and sat down at the balcony’s edge; I was not looking forward to this. “I don’t really know you, not in any intimate way.” He remained silent, his expression an unreadable stoic mask. “I don’t think I can explain without first talking about your cutie-mark.” I pointed to the stars on my own flank. “You saw it yourself earlier today, every pony in Equestria has a mark which symbolizes their special talent in a significant way.”

“Except me.” I nodded sadly.

“That’s why you were always wearing a coat. So nopony could see your blank flank.” He snorted and backed away, but I read confusion on his face, not anger, and directed inwards. “It’s a derogatory term foals sometimes use to taunt ponies who haven’t found theirs yet. Most figure it out when they are young. That's why hearing it makes you feel miserable.” I took a deep breath. “We still don’t know why you don’t have one. It was your secret, and we found out by accident, you were furious with us. I came back the next day to apologize, and you told me pretty much everything I know. I promised you I wouldn’t tell anypony else about your story without your permission, that’s why none of the others know anything about you. That was only our third real conversation. As far as I know, you talked even less with everypony else than you did with me. It was shortly after that you had your accident.” He sat down and looked up at the stars again. “I’m sorry I didn’t say more before.”

“Tell me.” He didn’t look at me. I suspected he was crying. “Tell me what I told you.”

“Are you sure? It was a painful story, even then.”

“I am going to guess that you were hoping I would remember on my own.” I nodded, but he wasn’t watching me. “Tell me.” He sounded so determined. I hesitated, unsure how he would respond. But I couldn’t hold it back now, not when so directly confronted.

Slowly, sadly, I told him his own story. How he grew up without a mark, how the other ponies taunted him and pitied him. His failure to get into Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns. How he never felt he was good enough. How Sereina cared for him. Eventually, with no story left to tell except the last, I showed him the same memory he had shown me. The final night with his family.

When I finished, and the spell faded, I looked back up at him. His face was an unrecognizable mess of conflicting emotions. He turned, and I looked away, giving him a measure of privacy.

“I’m sorry I kept this from you. I was waiting until you were strong enough.” Not entirely true, but close enough. I had also secretly hoped I wouldn’t have to tell him at all. He stood and turned his back on me. “Sable?” He did not speak, instead conjuring a barrier between us when I stepped closer. Although it would have been easy for me to remove the shield, I did not, understanding his request for solitude. Slowly I walked back to the doorway. I wasn’t going to make the mistake of intruding on his privacy again. “If you want to talk…” I waited for an answer, just inside the door. He didn’t give one, and I withdrew to leave him to his thoughts among the wind and the stars.

* * *

_“…”_

_“You alright, sugarcube?”_

_“Yeah, it just brought back some unpleasant memories. That's all.”_

_“You’ve already told us the story, was it really that rough on you?”_

_“No, not this moment. A later one.”_

* * *

I wasn’t sure I would see Sable at breakfast, so when he failed to show I was not surprised. When I asked if Spike has seen him the little dragon confirmed that he had not. The library was empty, the books I loaned Sable in neat stacks on the table. The balcony was clear; he did at least close the doors when he was done. I considered knocking on his bedroom door, only to decide against it, I had no idea how late he stayed up thinking. If he wanted to sleep in, that was his decision. So instead I turned to my own tasks, put aside over the last days to help Sable.

Later in the afternoon Spike and I were out in town, meeting with Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. We were having a pleasantly ordinary conversation when we were interrupted by the arrival of a most unusual message.

“Oh, what’s this?” Pinkie Pie wrinkled her nose, a pink bird had perched there. “All I see is pink!” She shook her head; the bird refused to leave. Something about it seemed off to me; it didn’t seem to be a real animal.

“Oh dear. Let me help you.” Fluttershy went to shoo the creature away, but when she leaned close, the winged thing tried to swat her hoof aside and remain where it was. “Come on. Go home. Leave my friend alone.” The bird thing resisted. It made a crumpling noise as it moved, it sounded like paper.

“Hold on, let me take a look.” Fluttershy moved aside to allow me to lean in. Upon closer inspection, I could see that this thing was not a bird at all. “An animated origami paper swan. That’s interesting.” No sooner had I recognized this than three more of the little paper birds, in similar shape although different in color, arrived and demanded our attention. A yellow one landed before Fluttershy, its folded beak tapping her hoof. A green one settled atop Spike’s spikes and a purple one buzzed around my head to flit in and out of my view.

“Ahh, get it off!” Spike flailed uselessly at the paper bird, his short arms not quite able to catch it.

“Hold on, hold on.” I snatched the origami creations in front of Pinkie’s nose and over Spike’s head using my magic, the little things flapped helplessly as I held them in place. “A bit insistent aren’t they?” The one in front of Fluttershy made no move to resist when the pegasus picked it up.

“They are cute little things.” The swan seemed to preen itself. But after a moment the one in Fluttershy’s possession unfolded itself and stilled its motion. “It’s a message.” I watched my friend’s eyes sweep over the page, the purple one around my head finally annoying me enough for me to bother catching it. “It’s from Mr. Stardust.” I brought the one meant for me to where I could reach it, letting Spike and Pinkie take theirs. “To the pony who receives this message, please join me at my old hovel at earliest convenience. I will explain when everypony has arrived. Sable Stardust.”

“That's all it says?” When I had a hold of my own messenger it unfolded the same as Fluttershy’s. The text is identical on mine, and when I looked at Pinkie and Spike, they indicated the same. “This seems a little excessive to me.”

“Isn’t that the fun part?” Pinkie was already trying to refold hers back into its bird shape.

“I bet everypony else got one too.”

“Twilight, help!” I looked up to see Rainbow Dash barreling towards us, followed by a veritable cloud of little blue paper birds. “I can’t get them to stop following me!” I couldn’t help but laugh. I took to the air, snagging the swarm of flapping papers all at once. “Thanks.” I picked one out from the cloud and passed it to the blue pegasus.

“It’s just a message from Sable. We’ve each received one.” I turned my attention to the now immobilized cloud of paper. “I don’t know why he sent you so many though.”

“There was only one at first.” Rainbow Dash paused to read the letter. “I didn’t see it coming, and accidentally shredded it. Each piece turned into its own bird and started chasing me.” She flipped the paper over, looking for more to the simple message. I examined the origami swarm; it appeared Sable made a ‘Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ error.

“I think mine is broken.” I looked down at Pinkie Pie, her bird folded again but looking a bit crumpled. The origami swan was immobile even when she poked it.

“They must return to inanimate state once the message is delivered.” I passed another letter to Rainbow Dash, plucked at random from the blue cloud. Dash looked back at the swarm, clearly lamenting what would have to come next.

“I’m going to have to read them all?!” Dash grabbed at her eyes, pulling her eyelids down in an exaggerated display of anguish.

“I don’t think you have to actually read them, just pick it up and let it unfold.” Fluttershy helpfully explained to her.

“Wonderful…”

“We should go see what he wants if he’s sending us all letters.” I landed next to spike, nodding in agreement.

“Yeah, before he sends out more of them.” Dash grabbed another paper bird, crumpling the first one into a ball and tossing it behind her. I lifted it from the ground and deposited the trash in a nearby bin.

* * *

_“Those sound adorable!”_

  _“Did I get a bird?”_

_“No, sorry Starlight. He knew you were away, so he didn’t send you one.”_

_“You could have just said he sent everypony letters. You didn’t have to include this.”_

_“Well, they were cute, and he later found a novel use for this spell which came in useful when we had to deal with…”_

_“Twilight? Deal with what?”_

_“Oh, sorry. Let me continue.”_

* * *

“Well, this is depressing.” I looked at the wreck of Sable’s hovel. At this point, it was nothing more than four collapsing walls behind a hill.

“Tell me about it.” Rainbow Dash was still unfolding the messenger birds I brought with us. “At least I’m almost done with these.” I looked around, we were the first ones to arrive, and I didn’t see Sable anywhere.

“It really would have been nice if he told us when he was going be here.”

“I can’t argue with that.”

“Actually, I expected him to be here waiting for us. I guess we will just have to wait for everypony else.”

“There, done! Finally!” Dash crushed the last of the blue origami swans, tossing it over her shoulder. I caught the litter and dropped it with all of its duplicates into a pile for later disposal. Fluttershy giggled as Rainbow Dash sighed in relief; Pinkie was still playing with her note, now sticking it into her hair as if it were making a nest there. We gathered around the makeshift table, sill leftover from the cleanup, to wait for the others. We didn’t have to wait long before Applejack arrived, her note now an orange bow on her hat. Rarity came not long after, with her letter folded into a white flower she had set in her hair.

“Well, we’re all here. Has anypony seen Sable yet?”

“Oh, he showed up this morning just as I opened shop.” Rarity offered the information. “Fortunately I was able to finish his coat last night.”

“New Coat?”

“Right, I hadn’t told everypony yet. He was feeling uncomfortable walking around town, what with his…” I pointed to my mark, my meaning clear. “So we asked Rarity to make him a new one.”

“It is not my best work, I admit. But it’s functional.”

“Functional, and tough, is better for everyday wear anyways.”

“Yes dear, it is. But there’s no reason it can’t be fabulous as well.”

“Here we go again…” Rainbow Dash sighed. Pinkie Pie laughed.

“Ah good. Everypony is here.” We all looked up. “This simplifies matters.” Sable was descending slowly, his black glass wings spread wide, his new coat fluttering in the wind. He had something in his pocket.

“What the what!?” Rainbow Dash’s jaw dropped, she hadn’t noticed his wings before.

“You got your wings back!” Exclaimed Fluttershy.

“Ooh, Shiny!” Pinkie marveled, and Applejack whistled approvingly.

“You can thank Twilight and Rarity for that.” Sable landed at the head of the so-called table. His wings made a light tingling sound as they fold, almost like a wind chime. Was that a new function or did I not take note of it before? “They found a way to jog my memory.”

“So, Stardust, what was so urgent you had to send these to get us all here like this?”

“I programmed them to get your attention. It seems to have worked.”

“Some of us were in the middle of things before your little birds got in our way.”

“You could have just sent an ordinary letter or something.”

“Yes. But this was more fun.”

“HA! See, I told you!”

“Hang on, back up. What the how did you get wings!?” Everypony laughed, including Sable, I was pleased to note.

“I would be happy to explain, later. At the moment, I have something I need to say.” He backed up a few steps so that he could see the seven of us all at once more easily. Before he spoke again, he took several deep breaths. It looked like he was steadying himself. “First, I want to thank all of you for your assistance, and your patience, with my problem. I know I have not been the kindest to some of you.”

“You can say that again.” Spike had been present for most of Sable’s losses of control.

“I will not.” I blinked, he had to have known that was a joke. “Second.” He looked at them, making eye contact with each in turn. “I no longer wish to have your aid in recovering my old memories.” The response was instant. All seven of us cried out in surprise with exclamations of disbelief or concern. Sable remained silent, and I could tell he was waiting for us to quiet down. I was the first to stop pressing him for answers.

“Did we do something wrong? Did we offend you somehow?” Fluttershy looked like she might be ready to cry. He demanded silence, snapping a wing out to the side.

“Let me explain.” He paused until it was clear we would not interrupt. “I have come to a decision of some importance, and I want everypony to hear this and listen carefully. I know little of my history, my past is gone. What little I do know, provided by Princess Twilight Sparkle, has painted a picture of a lonely and somewhat miserable pony.” The others all looked to me for answers. I shook my head, mouth pointedly closed. “I have examined my feelings regarding that history, and my feelings towards each of you.” Sable waved a hoof in an arc, gesturing to us all. “I have come to the conclusion…” he took another deep breath. “I do not need that life back.” Silence dropped.

“Excuse me?” It was my turn to drop my jaw. Everyone stared at him, stunned.

“Maybe one day I will recover those memories.” He shrugged. “And maybe not. That past is gone. The only thing left is this wreck behind me.” He pointed using his right wing at the hovel’s ruins. “That past is no longer important. What is, is my future and my friends.” I felt such a wellspring of pride towards him. I glanced around; Fluttershy was on the verge of tears again, this time joyful, everpony else was smiling. “I was alone, and miserable, and lost. But I don’t have to be anymore. It’s true, I don’t know where I am going, but I don’t have to go down that road on my own. And so…” He turned around now, facing the hovel. A familiar static charge filled the air.

“Sable, what are you…?” He snapped both wings high to attention, requesting silence so he could concentrate. The ground rumbled, static sparked visibly around Sable’s body. A neon blue glow, Sable’s magic, surrounded the hovel’s wrecked roof and walls. He raised one hoof, and the wood and stone of Sable’s old home rose into the air. First the roof, and then the walls and failing foundation ripped out of the ground. The ruins collapsed into each other, swirling and mixing into a ball of building materials. He closed his eyes, and I saw sweat beading on his forehead. The spinning orb of stuff started to transform into shapes, gaining limbs and forms faintly familiar. A moment longer, and Sable slowly let his hoof down, setting the sculpture into the place where his home had once stood and let out a held breath.

“Is that… us?” Rainbow Dash’s disbelief was justified. What used to be Sable’s home was now a mess of stone and wood, formed into crude facsimiles of six ponies and one dragon holding an eighth figure in the air. They shared some vague similarities to my friends and me, but only crudely. The character at the top was apparently supposed to be Sable, although its head was misshapen and its wings crooked. Pinkie Pie laughed loudly and fell to the ground; Rarity made an aghast face, Applejack wrinkled her nose. Even Fluttershy looked embarrassed for him. The horn of the Sable figure and the wings of one of the pegasi fell off and splashed into the pond.

“Well… that looked better in my head.” He sighed. “You know what. Better idea.” Sable ripped the entire, terrible, sculpture back into the air. I half expected him to try again. Instead, Sable compressed the horrible thing into a ball and with a vigorous stomp thrust the mess into the ground. He buried the ball of old house and bad statue deep into the soft soil, the hole quickly filling with muddy water from the nearby pond. Sable turned back towards us, his face a stoic stone. “Let us never speak of that again.”

“Sorry, Sable, but not a chance.” His veneer cracked, and he smiled. It was good to see him with a sense of humor for once. “It’s the thought that counts.”

“But wait, there’s more.” He cleared his throat, taking a potion from his pocket. “I had hoped this to be a bit more solemn, but well.” He waved at the hole where his hovel once stood. Pinkie Pie was still laughing, rolling over in her mirth. “I will stumble on the road ahead; I will fall and make mistakes.” He walked over to the burned willow. “I hope I can count on you all to help me stand tall again when I do.”

“Nothing would make me happier.” He nodded sincerely towards me and poured half the potion onto the base of the tree. The dead and burned bark glowed, the limbs started to grow thick and sturdy. The tree groaned and reached high, towering over us all. Branches sprouted long trails of leaves, which draped down around us like a veil all the way to the ground. Pale leaves shimmered like back-lit crystal. Pinkie stopped laughing, mirth replaced with awe.

Sable flung the potion bottle wide, spraying the liquid all over the ground around him. Large flowers, in a hundred varieties and colors, bloomed all around us in a glorious affirmation of life. Among the lustrous garden I spotted a single magenta lily. Some of the droplets of the potion even landed on the leaves of the willow, which sprouted its own flowers among its branches, lit by the sun they shimmered like stained glass. It was like a cathedral inside the willow’s veil.

“It’s beautiful!” I had to agree with Rarity.

“Thank you.” He bowed, using his wings to give the motion more flourish. “In case it wasn’t obvious, the…” He gestured to where the house had been, and his hideous statue buried. “Represents my past and this.” Now he used both wings to indicate the cathedral tree around him. “My future.” Everyone took a few moments to explore the garden, and then Sable spoke again. “I have one more request for today.” We all looked over at him, standing at the base of the willow. “Pinkie Pie?” He looked at the pink pony, peering at him quizzically as he smiled playfully. “Think you could find a party cannon?”

* * *

_“It sounds like he has something of a romantic side to him.”_

_“I guess he does. I didn’t notice that.”_

_“That really is a remarkable decision he made… Twilight, what’s so funny?”_

_“Oh, sorry, you said the same thing at the party. I guess it shouldn’t surprise me.”_

* * *

 Pinkie Pie, naturally, had no trouble finding one of her party cannons. She invited the lot of us over to Sugarcube Corner anyways, to throw a proper party. Within moments the shop was filled with balloons, streamers, confetti, bouncy music, and enough cupcakes and punch to more than satisfy everypony. At first, Sable was quiet, but at Rainbow Dash’s prodding told everpony the story of his wings. Not much to say, but it was a way to break the ice. Soon ponies from outside were drawn in by the noise, and slowly the shop filled to the brim.

After a while I found myself at the edge of the party, merely enjoying watching Sable as he interacted with others. I recalled how Luna was so uncertain when she came to Ponyville for that first fright night after she was freed from being Nightmare Moon. Sable was similar, very unsure and hesitant, but willing to try. Still, even seeing him with a will to thrive, something bothered me.

“Twilight, why are you over here all alone?” Fluttershy stepped up beside me. “Is something bothering you?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“So there is something bothering you. You just looked apprehensive for some reason.” Fluttershy looked over at what I was watching. Sable was by the punch bowl, chatting with a pair of ponies who seem enraptured by his wings. “Is there something wrong with Sable?”

“No. Not at all. I was thinking about what he said.”

“It is a remarkable thing he has decided to do. So why do you seem worried?”

“It’s… well, it’s sort of hard to say.” I paused, forcing myself to face my friend instead of staring at Sable. “Do you remember what he was like, before?”

“We only spoke that first time in the castle. I didn’t get a chance to really talk with him after that.”

“Well yes, but what did you think of him?” Fluttershy thought about the question, her eyes darting from side to side as she considered her response.

“I think I would have to say, determined? Evasive? A little defensive and shy maybe?”

“And does this.” I pointed to Sable, across the room. “Feel anything like that.”

“Not at all. Now he’s friendly; he’s trying to be very open. It’s almost like he’s a whole new pony.”

“That's what worries me.” I invited Fluttershy to consider the meaning of my words. “Is he still the same Sable we met that day? Was his old life honestly so sad that he’s better off without it?” I snapped my mouth shut, suddenly ashamed to have said that. An image of Sable flashed in my mind, the night they spoke in the park, and I understood now what he was feeling.

“Twilight!” Fluttershy gasped, astonished I would suggest it. Secretly I was glad I wasn’t talking to Pinkie or Dash, no pony nearby made a note of our conversation.

“Look at him, Fluttershy.” I pointed to Sable again, showing those same ponies an illusion detailing how some magic spell was constructed. The other two ponies seemed hopelessly out of their depth; neither one was a unicorn. “He’s resilient, curious, thoughtful, insightful even on occasion. When I look at him now, I see a better pony than I ever did before the accident. Is that wrong of me?” My yellow pegasus friend did not answer, at a loss for words. In a sense I was saved from having to explain when Sable himself wandered over, the ponies he was talking to thoroughly confused and wandering off.

“Do you mind if I join you for a while?”

“No, no, not at all. Why would we mind? It's not like we were talking about you or anything.” I spoke a little too quickly and laughed nervously. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously for an instant, before shaking his head. It was clear to me he had chosen not to press further, he obviously caught on to my discomfort. “To be honest, I think I’ve had enough partying for today.” Fluttershy and I shared a glance.

“Is your injury bothering you?”

“Are you tired?” Up close I could see he was trembling slightly. I gave him a concerning glance; he caught me looking.

“I’m alright. I’m not used to so much attention. At least, not this kind.” His meaning was clear to me, Fluttershy nodded as well.

“You can take it at your own speed, no need to rush these things.”

“Your patience is appreciated.” He took a place beside us, allowing others to take center stage. The trembling I saw in him before stilled as he took several deep breaths. “Frankly, I’m surprised anyone can keep up with Pinkie Pie. She has absolutely boundless energy.”

“Even we have troubles sometimes. You get used to it eventually.” Fluttershy giggled softly.

“Actually, Sable, I was wondering what it was that convinced you to do what you did today.”

“I knew this would have to come up eventually.” He sighed. “In truth… I think it was what you gave me last night.” I nodded, Fluttershy looked from one to the other, confused and curious. Sable’s eyes swerved to the Pegasus's’ face. “My history.”

“You did say Twilight gave you your history back. That was only last night?” Fluttershy looked my way, and I nodded in answer.

“Although the details are gone, the broad strokes remain. I couldn’t sleep last night, so I went for a walk.”

“During the middle of the night?”

“There is something calming about the solitude of the night. It’s… familiar, quiet, devoid of inquisitive ponies.” This time it was my turn to giggle softly. “Well, it gave me time to think, free of distractions.” He stopped here; I could see him sorting his thoughts, having seen the expression often in recent days. He shifted uncomfortably. “The answer really is simple enough. I cannot dwell on what might have been, not if I want…” He glanced around, something distracting him. “Does anypony else feel that?” I did, I looked back at my cutie-mark, glowing. What incredible timing the map had.

“Mr. Stardust! Your wings!” Fluttershy pointed, and he unfolded one wing. The spaces between each glass panel pulsed with a soft golden light.

“Twilight, what’s going on? I’m not doing this!” He locked eyes with me, borderline panicking.

“It’s the map, calling to us.”


	4. A Change of Heart

_“The map called him? That’s quite unusual.”_

_“And it used his wings?”_

_“Well, he didn’t have a mark to flash. It had to pick something to work with.”_

_“What about the icon over the map, what did it use?”_

_“A little copy of his wings, actually.”_

_“Did that turn out to be his mark?”_

_“No. That is… not what happened. … You’re just assuming he finds his mark during my story?”_

_“It does seem like a natural climax for his story arc.”_

* * *

Steel wheels raced along the tracks, Sable looked out the window on the seat opposite me as the scenery whirled past. His expression was one of passive curiosity. The journey had taken several hours, and the conversation had been light. It was just the two of us, the map didn’t call for anypony else.

“So, Sable, have you ever taken the train before?” He tilted his head momentarily and then nodded, but did not speak. It was like this the whole way. “OK then, do you remember ever coming this far from Ponyville?” He tilted his head the other way and finally looked over at her.

“I believe the answer is yes. I have not spent my entire life in Ponyville.”

“I guess I already knew that.”

“What are we doing out here?”

“I told you yesterday, we’re going to find a friendship problem, and only we can fix it.”

“That’s all we get? Just a location?”

“Yep.”

“And the map sent me because…?”

“I have no idea.”

“Not much to go on.” Sable frowned.

“Somehow the map knows that the problem can only be resolved by those it sends. You must have some special talent or way of thinking that will help. This is how it’s always been with us anyways. Do you think you might have any friend’s out here?”

“I doubt it. The terrain seems unfamiliar to me. I don’t think I’ve ever come this way.”

“Can you think of anything that sets you apart from everpony else?”

“Only one thing.” He lifted one wing, looking at his flank beneath his black coat. “I assume you meant anything else besides the obvious.” I nodded. “I am going to have to disappoint you then.” I sighed. The train slowed, and I looked out the window to see our destination coming into view.

“Oh good, we’re almost there.” A few minutes later the train pulled into the station; we were the only passengers to disembark here. I waved a hoof in the direction of the structure in the distance. “Welcome, Sable Stardust, to the Crystal Empire.” Ahead of us stood the crystal tower, a gleaming pillar piercing through a low cloud and into the heavens. At its base stood the shining structures of the Crystal Empire.

“Impressive castle.” A chill wind blew at his mane; it didn’t bother him as far as I could tell, his coat did have a practical use after all.

“That’s the palace. I’ll introduce you to my brother and Princess Cadence once we get there, and we can settle into our rooms and go out looking for our friendship problem. If we’re fortunate, we might even finish today.” We started out along the road; the train station was quite distant from the city itself.

“If I remember correctly, Starlight Glimmer was supposed to be here, was she not?” Light snow began to fall around us as we passed under the cloud and into the city proper.

“She’s probably still here, visiting Sunburst. Hmm…” I recalled the previous evening at the table. “I didn’t see her mark over the map.”

“Could the problem involve them?” I could see him sweep his eyes over the ground, a pale mist swirled around our hoofs.

“It’s possible. She’s had troubles reconnecting with him before. I would hope she could resolve it herself though.” He nodded, apparently paying only a little attention. I frowned slightly; he could at least pay more attention when I talked.

“Something is strange about this weather.” He looked up, peering into the clouds. I sighed, mildly annoyed.

“That’s just snow, let’s go already.” I stomped along the road, Sable walking along just beside me. The other ponies along the way avoided us, and something about them tingled my concern. Something was wrong. I just couldn’t place it.

“Is it always this welcoming?” I looked back; Sable was now watching the other ponies in the street. I paused and also turned to see what had drawn his attention. Every other pony was alone, and either scowling at somepony else or their eyes were darting suspiciously.

“No, it's not. The crystal ponies are usually much more inviting. That is strange.” I gestured towards the palace with my head. “Come on; we should go see what Princess Cadence knows what’s going on.” We quickened our pace. Along the way, we passed the statue of Spike, and I noted with some concern that some malcontent had painted a slur over Spike’s name. My little dragon was quite the hero here, nearly a national treasure. It was bizarre that somepony would deface it. We reached the front gate of the palace without incident, no pony ventured near us.

I knocked, and the door swung open, it wasn’t locked or even shut tight. I glanced at Sable, now more worried than ever, and the two of us ran in. The hallways were empty; there were no guards on duty or city administrators. As we approached the throne room I heard shouting ahead, and the crying of a distressed infant.

“Hello?” I pushed the door open with my magic. “It's me, Twilight Sparkle!” Shining Armor, my brother, and Princess Cadence, his wife, were standing on opposite sides of the room, shouting at each other. My niece, Flurry Heart, bawling her eyes out, rushed towards me on little Alicorn wings to cower behind my legs and peer out at her parents. The two adults didn’t even notice me enter.

“Whats this about?” Sable stepped up beside me, glancing from one angry pony to the other. I lifted Flurry from behind me and cradled her in my forelimb.

“Don’t worry Flurry. Your best aunt ever is here.” Flurry Heart sobbed continually but stopped bawling loudly. I looked to my brother and his wife; I’d never seen either of them like this before. They still hadn’t noticed me, shouting over each other made it difficult to tell what they were even saying. I could only stand there, dumbstruck.

“One moment please.” Sable stepped forward and concentrated. A static charge built around him, standing my hairs on end, Flurry felt it too, squirming uncomfortably. The purple unicorn popped out of existence with a bang, re-appearing in the center of the room between the two shouting adults. The sound of his teleport and sudden appearance between them made him impossible for them to ignore.

“Who in Tartarus gate’s are you!” Shouted Cadence.

“Intruder!” Shining Armor was even louder than before. A barrier bubble prison appeared around Sable, created by Shining Armor by reflex.

“Now that we have your attention.” Sable looked from one to the other, his mane still sizzling after his inexpert teleport, and raised both wings wide before using them to point at Twilight. “You have a guest.” His location within the white unicorn’s barrier did not seem to concern him. The Alicorn and the white unicorn turned to face me.

“Twilight! What are you doing here?” Cadence sounded annoyed, advancing towards me. “No matter, maybe you can get this baboon to listen!”

“Don’t you call me a baboon!” Shining Armor hissed back, also coming closer. Flurry whimpered in my embrace and looked away.

“Cadence, Shining Armor, what’s going on?!” They immediately started shouting again. “One at a time!” Flurry’s parents glared at each other, but at least they stopped shouting. “Shining Armor, you first.” Cadence scowled, baring her teeth in anger.

“She won’t stop telling me what to do! It's always Armor, do this. Armor, take care of Flurry. She never considers what I want!”

“Like you’re one to talk, always avoiding spending time with me! Is there another mare, is that it?”

“Of course not! But keep this up, and I really might go find somepony better.” I was speechless. Cadence huffed, appalled.

“How dare you! I can’t even look at you!” She twirled around on the spot, turning her back on both Shining Armor and Flurry Heart. “Twilight, you can look after Flurry for a while.” She didn’t even wait for a response before stalking out of the room, unwilling to listen to anypony else. Shining Armor reared angrily, shouting wordlessly, before similarly turning away and stomping out of the chamber in the opposite direction. It was all I could do to stand there, utterly stunned. Sable, having been silent and forgotten the whole encounter, appeared nearby with a lightning flash.

“I’m going to guess they aren’t usually like this?” I couldn’t even answer him. Flurry Heart started to cry again.

* * *

_“Marital troubles in the Crystal Empire?”_

_“Between those two lovebirds? I don’t believe it.”_

_“I couldn’t believe it either. It turns out our mission was much bigger than just the two of them.”_

* * *

 “I don’t know what to do.” I coddled Flurry, rocking her gently. It was a few minutes since the encounter with Shining Armor and Cadence in the throne room, and the little Alicorn finally stopped crying, exhausting herself to sleep.

“It would appear we found our problem.”

“Gee, you think?”

“Sarcasm is unnecessary.” His blasé attitude heckled me, it was almost like he wasn’t taking this seriously.

“It's only my brother and his wife, rulers of the Crystal Empire, ready to tear each other apart!” Flurry warbled in her sleep, I looked over to see her shaking in my aura, I had been rocking a bit too enthusiastically. I had to take several deep breaths, pacing back and forth to calm my nerves.

“I apologize, I know nothing of these two. Maybe somepony else can explain the situation if they are unwilling to speak to us.” He was probably right, for some reason it bothered me that he thought of it first. “We should see if we can find Starlight Glimmer.”

“Sunburst would be the better choice.” I shook my head. “He lives here after all.” Sable stepped back, his eyes narrowing for some reason, but nodded anyway. I glared at him, his behavior was curious. Then I remembered Flurry Heart, still being rocked to sleep by my magic. “What do we do with Flurry Heart? I don’t want to leave her alone with her parents behaving like that.”

“We will have to bring her along. Unless you have a better idea.” I did not. With a sigh I led us away, Sunburst’s home was out in the city. The light mist blanketing the town had begun to thicken. Again we found that nopony was willing to engage us in conversation at all, either glaring at us with hostility or avoiding us altogether. I kept Flurry Heart close, hovering the infant just in front of me as we walked.

Sable kept the light snow at bay with a simple spell, blowing it to the side before it even touched us. I scoffed, His concern for us was unwarranted. Without any distractions, we reached Sunburst’s home quickly. I knocked on the door, my hoof pounding hard against the wood. Sable glanced at me from the corner of his eye but said nothing.

“Who is it this time?” I recognized Sunburst’s voice; he sounded worried, or suspicious, I couldn’t tell which.

“It's Twilight Sparkle.” The door opened with a creak, just an inch. Sunburst’s bespectacled eye peered out at us from inside the darkened room.

“How can I be sure? You might be a changeling.” Now, that was strange. The changelings were all friendly now, why would he be concerned about that?

“Come on Sunburst; it's me, you know me. I’ve even got Flurry Heart with me.” The eye behind the door swerved now towards Flurry Heart. “Just let us in already.” There was a moment of silence before the door slammed shut.

“That went well.” I glared at Sable again, and he pretended not to notice. Then I heard a door chain being moved, and the door opened quickly.

“Hurry, hurry.” The orange unicorn beckoned us inside. “They might get in.” Now Sunburst was starting to sound outright paranoid. I went in first, levitating Flurry with me, Sable had to shuffle in right behind me before Sunburst shoved the door closed, locking and attaching a strong chain to it. The room was dark, and I could only see by the faint light coming in through curtained windows and the glow of my magic aura, still holding Flurry in the air.

“Sunburst, what is going on?” The orange unicorn was even more ragged than usual, his eyes flicking from my face to shadowed corners and back.

“I don’t know! Everypony has gone crazy!”

“When did this start?” Sable spoke, in the dim light he appeared almost invisible, and Sunburst almost fell over in his haste to back away.

“Who are you? Where did you come from?” He pointed accusing at Sable, who for his part continued to be unconcerned with all the open hostility he had received today.

“My name is Sable Stardust, and I mean you no harm.” This did not seem to make Sunburst feel any better. “Please, answer the question.” He spoke slowly, calmly. I caught on to something in his tone, I remembered it from their first meeting at the castle. He was forcing this calm state, suppressing something stronger. Sable looked to me and stepped back from the frightened unicorn; the extra distance helped calm Sunburst.

“I didn’t notice until it was too late.” Sunburst stalked the room, glancing out through a tiny tear in the curtain to the empty street. “I think I might be the only one left not replaced.”

“Replaced?”

“It’s the only thing I can think of, everypony has been replaced by changelings!”

“That's preposterous.”

“Every time I go outside I get all these stares, it’s like they don’t trust me anymore. It's not normal, what else could it be?” This was going nowhere; he was starting to repeat himself.

“Sunburst.” Sable still spoke calmly, flatly. “Where is Starlight Glimmer?”

“She got here the day before yesterday. She said there was something that felt wrong with the Empire. She saw it too!”

“Where is she?”

“I don’t know. She should have been back by now!” The panic in his voice began to rise again. “They must have got her too!” Sunburst shoved a bookshelf in front of the window and curled up in the corner of the room. “Quick, get down, or they’ll see you!”

“Come on Sunburst; you aren’t this useless.” He whimpered, and I turned away with some irritation from the terrified and paranoid Sunburst. Sable watched me intently. “What?!” He didn’t recoil when I snapped at him.

“Do you trust me?” That came out of nowhere.

“What are you talking about?”

“It is a simple question. Do you trust me?” I didn’t answer. His neon blue eyes swiveled to the infant still napping in my magic aura. “How do you feel about Flurry Heart?”

“What’s with all the questions?”

“I have a theory. Just look at her, and tell me how you feel.” Might as well get this foolishness out of the way. I looked at the infant, murmuring in her sleep. I considered my emotions at the moment. Irritated at this pointless waste of time, we have more important things to do. Concerned, Something was very wrong here. Worried, Shining Armor and Cadence have never fought like that before. Flurry Heart burbled in her sleep, and I let a tear roll down my cheek.

“I don’t want to let anything bad happen to you.” I told the infant. “I Promise I’ll fix this.” I cradled Flurry in one wing, holding the little warm body close.

“There, concentrate on that.” I almost forgot he was standing there. Something glowed around me, and a heavy weight lifted from my shoulders I did not know I was carrying. I looked over to see Sable concentrating on a spell, the glow caused by his magic. “Do you feel better now?”

“Sable?” I felt somehow lighter, less tense, significantly less angry. “What are you doing?” He didn’t answer, but walked towards Starburst, slowly navigating the darkened room by feel.

“Stay back!” The orange unicorn cried out in terror.

“Remain calm. I am here to help.” Sable’s magic enveloped Sunburst. The orange unicorn blinked, his spectacles falling off his nose. His shivering stopped, and he slowly got back to his feet, retrieving his glasses.

“What? Twilight? What’s going on?” The paranoia and panic in his voice were gone.

“I don’t know. Sable, what are you doing?”

“Our emotions are being manipulated.” He had to speak slowly, his spell taking most of his concentration.

“Manipulated, how?”

“I have no idea.” Sable shook his head slowly. “I think it has something to do with the strange weather outside.” I blinked, I remembered being annoyed with him almost the moment we entered the city. Sunburst looked out the window, pushing aside the curtain along one edge of the window not blocked by the bookcase.

“That fog is getting thicker. I can barely see down the road.”

“I’m losing the spell, brace yourselves.” Sable grunted, peeking out from his closed eyes, and his aura blinked out. Now aware of my own emotions, I felt a sudden surge of anger towards him. My first instinct was to shout, but I checked myself, breathing deeply. My pulse beat loudly in my ears, but I knew I could control my feelings. Sunburst cringed and hunched over, suddenly jittery.

“Sunburst? Are you alright?”

“I… I think so.” He had to take his own deep breaths to steady himself. “Yes, I can control it now.”

“What could do this to an entire city?” I was glad Flurry was still sleeping. An Alicorn with out of control emotions could be a dangerous thing. Sunburst shook his head.

“I have no idea. The Crystal Heart should keep the city safe from something like this.”

“Crystal Heart?” Sable wouldn’t have known about it, of course.

“It’s an artifact that keeps the city safe; it’s powered by the hope and love of all the Crystal Ponies.” my heart jumped to my throat. “And if every pony in the city has turned on each other…” I looked to Sunburst to see the same concern on his face.

“We need to get to the Heart!”

* * *

_“Something was manipulating emotions across the entire city?”_

_“That’s terrifying.”_

_“What can even do that?”_

* * *

 The three of us, with me carrying Flurry Heart, raced back towards the Palace through the densely clouded fog. I wasn’t sure if the mist was a cause or effect of what was happening there. Briefly, I considered it could be natural, but disregarded that, fog and snow don’t occur together usually.

“Sunburst.” I spoke between heavy breaths. “Where did Starlight Glimmer go?” our hooves beat hard along the stone road.

“I don’t know. She left my house sometime yesterday. I think she said she was going to talk to Princess Cadence.”

“You think?” Sable beat me to the question, sounding irritated.

“I wasn’t exactly in my right mind!” We passed beyond the palace gates, the structure arced over the very center of the city, where the Crystal Heart rested. The courtyard was full of snow, in places almost knee deep. We came to a stop as we rounded the corner, and found the Crystal Heart still perched atop its plinth. It looked intact, and I let out a sigh as I struggled to catch my breath. Looking back revealed Sunburst was having a harder time of it, his breaths coming out in gasps of fog. Sable brought up the rear, wincing with each step, he must have strained his rib again. “At least the Crystal Heart hasn’t been stolen.”

“That’s the Crystal Heart?” Sable stepped closer to it, decidedly unimpressed. “It's just sitting out in the open, completely undefended?” He strolled up to the Heart and reached out to touch it. “Any random putz can just reach out and take…” At his touch the heart flashed, a shockwave exploded off the plinth and hurled Sable into a snowdrift against the palace wall. The boom woke Flurry Heart, and she cowered again close to my legs. I had to bite back a sarcastic quip, knowing it was due to the manipulation. A purple hoof rose into the air from beneath the snow. “I wish to retract my previous statement.” I had to laugh, briefly. Sable stood, shaking the powder out of his mane and returned to his place beside them, keeping well clear of the Heart.

“Now what?” I didn’t answer Sunburst; I instead closed to inspect the Crystal Heart, checking it from every angle. I didn’t find any flaw in it. It should have been working as intended. Flurry groaned quietly, she might have been hungry and was clearly worried about something. “I don’t understand. The Heart is just not working?” Sunburst came closer, pretty much no pony alive knew more about it than him. “Is it just low on power?” He squinted, inspecting it with his limited magic. “No, it's well charged. It should be pushing away all this fog, and disrupting the emotional manipulation.”

“And the snow?”

“That’s probably natural.” Sable narrowed his eyes, my explanation unconvincing. For an instant, he resembled his original self.

“Twilight, we need more information.” He shook his head and turned towards me. “Princess Cadence is clearly under the full effect of this manipulation, as well as Shining Armor. You should see if you can find Starlight.”

“What about you?”

“Sunburst and I will remain here.” The Orange unicorn nodded and adjusted his glasses. “We will try and figure out what is blocking the Heart from doing its job. Unless, of course, you have a better idea?” I did not, my ears drooping. My niece squirmed and squeaked, and I cradled her closer.

“And Flurry?” Sable looked down at the little Alicorn. His hard gaze seemed to bother Flurry Heart.

“I don’t think she will leave you, not peaceably. Her presence here will only make things more difficult anyway.”

“You’re sure you can figure this out?”

“I have no idea.”

“Don’t worry Princess Twilight. We’ll get this working.” Sunburst sounded quite a bit more confident than Sable. I nodded, and turned towards the Palace entrance, Flurry sticking close to me. As I left, I overheard Sable begin to question Sunburst.

“Now, Sunburst. Tell me everything you know about how the Heart works…”

I left them both behind, searching madly in the palace for any sign of Starlight Glimmer. I double-checked the throne room, and halls we passed through earlier, some of the guest rooms, the library, even the toilets. She was nowhere to be found. The castle staff was entirely absent, the halls echoing with her hoofsteps and the muffled sounds of Flurry’s mumbles. The other ponies must surely be hiding in their rooms out of fear. I had to pause several times when my anger began to overwhelm me. This manipulation was getting stronger, or my control was weakening. It was hard to tell which. Eventually, Flurry Heart demanded my attention.

“I’m sorry Flurry Heart, but I really need to find Starlight.” The little pink Alicorn glared at me grumpily. The effect was more cute than threatening on her little round face. “If you were only a bit older you could tell me if you’ve seen her.” Flurry wormed her way out of my magic and fluttered off in the direction of the kitchen. With a sigh, I followed, to make sure the infant got fed. I was having no success finding any pony willing to talk anyway, let alone Starlight Glimmer. My luck immediately turned when we entered the kitchen, Flurry squeaked and dove for my side as we passed through the door.

“Are you kidding me!” I shouted, my control lost for an instant. Sitting square in the middle of the kitchen was Starlight Glimmer, held prisoner by a crystalline shell. The expression of the trapped unicorn was one of pure surprise and fear. Whatever did this caught her completely off guard. I tried to focus on the proper counter-spell, but Flurry kept pulling on my leg and disrupting my concentration. “Flurry, What?” I sneered down at the infant, who groaned and backed away, hiding behind her own wings. “Oh no, Flurry Heart. I’m sorry.” I calmed myself, speaking softly and silently cursing the obnoxious emotional twisting. “It’s alright. I’m better now.”

My niece only backed further away; she must have felt utterly alone. Starlight would have to wait a moment longer, she wasn’t going anywhere, and the prison spell posed no immediate danger to her. I looked around; there were a few jars of mashed peas on the counter as well as a platter of rainbow sprinkled cupcakes. I considered the jars of peas, Flurry’s favorite. A healthy choice, but this called for something a bit sweeter. I took one of the cupcakes and presented it to Flurry Heart.

“Here you go. It's alright. I’m not going to hurt you.” Flurry peered out from behind her wings. “I would never hurt you.” The infant’s stomach growled, and the lure of the cupcake overrode the fear she must have felt. She took the cupcake from my outstretched hoof, devouring it in a few quick bites. “There we go, is that better?” Flurry burbled something up at me, sprinkles and icing covering her face. Again my anger melted away, and I embraced my niece. “Don’t worry, Sunburst and I will get this all fixed up. But now I need you to stay quiet for a minute while I save Starlight. OK?” Flurry wiped at her face with a tiny hoof, content for the moment.

I turned again to the crystalline prison spell and the unicorn within. It was the same spell Sable used on her the day of the accident. That alone was worrisome. When I stepped closer red glowing runes appeared on the floor, hissing and sputtering steam. Somepony had set a trap, that was even more worrisome. I looked back at Flurry, sitting on the counter. I couldn’t let Flurry get to close to the trap, so I held my position between the infant and the runes. I would have to disable the trap first.

I concentrated on the runes; dark magic was apparently involved in their creation. Fortunately, whoever did this was not particularly skilled, had the trap been appropriately set it would have triggered only when I tried to free Starlight. In the worst case, it might have seriously injured me. As is, I found I just needed a few moments of silence to remove them. One counter-spell later and Starlight slumped to the ground, free of the disintegrating prison.

“Starlight, are you alright?” The unicorn looked up; she couldn’t seem to focus on me. I frowned, it was just like the day of Sable’s accident. “Here, let me help you.” I lifted my friend from the floor, steadying her first with magic, and then draping a wing over her side to keep her upright. Starlight mumbled something incoherent. Whatever happened here was much worse than last time. “Something is very wrong with the Crystal Empire.” Starlight nodded, or her head bobbed loosely; I couldn’t tell which. “Sable thinks something is manipulating everpony’s emotions.” Starlight slurred something, almost falling away. “I’ve got you, come on. Sunburst is out at the Crystal Heart” Although Starlight still couldn’t speak, I felt a little more strength in my unicorn friend’s body.

I guided her towards the door, looking back to make sure Flurry was following. The infant Alicorn stuck pretty close, fluttering into the air and keeping pace with us, stealing another cupcake along the way. I grimaced, Cadence was going to complain to me later. Starlight could only barely walk. It took several long minutes to make our way back out to Sunburst and Sable.

* * *

_“So that’s twice I’ve been captured by crystal prisons. Great.”_

_“Sorry, you kept getting caught in them.”_

_“_ _Ugh, that was my spell in the first place too. Pinkie, quit laughing at me!”_

* * *

 “I found Starlight!” I called out to announce our presence. Then I had to stop and blink, seeing golden spots of light in my eyes. My blinking did nothing to remove them, and I briefly considered that something had gone particularly bad out here. Then I looked again and saw that the spots of light were glowing runes connected to each other by dim lines, they formed the rough shape of a heart in the air. Flurry giggled and started to weave through them, at least she was feeling better.

“Starlight! Oh my goodness, are you alright?” Sunburst rushed to her side and took over in supporting the unicorn. Starlight mumbled again, I couldn’t be sure, but I think Starlight said something like ‘of course not.’

“What happened to her?” Sable came over, and I saw now that it was Sable’s magic manifesting the runes in the air.

“I’ve seen her like this before.” I pulled away from Starlight and Sunburst and lowered my voice, not wanting Sunburst to draw the wrong conclusion. “Just before your accident.” Sable raised a curious eyebrow. “It's much worse than last time.”

“Hmm…” Sunburst, holding a hoof to Starlight’s head, mumbled to himself. “This is some pretty nasty magic. I’ve read about spells that could do this, a side effect of mental theft.”

“Will she be alright?” Sable’s voice wavered slightly; he must have been recalling the moment he attacked Starlight himself.

“That depends, if the spell were cast carefully I would think she would get better fairly quickly.” Last time she was back to normal within minutes, at least Sable had not wanted to harm her. “Why would someone do this to her?” Sable shifted uncomfortably.

“Look after her for me, will you, Sunburst?” The orange unicorn nodded. Starlight looks up at me, her eyes still not focusing right. “Don’t worry Starlight. You’re in good hooves.” With that under control, or at least not getting any worse, I stepped towards the Crystal Heart, eying the glowing runes in the air. Sable followed. “Did you learn anything?”

“I think so.” He gestured to some intersecting lines in the air. “Sunburst has been explaining how the Heart functions. This is a visualization of the flow of magic within the Heart as best we understand it. As far as we can tell there is nothing wrong with Crystal Heart itself.” That was good to hear, and for the third time, I felt the anger wash off as I let out a held breath. “That said.” The runes contracted towards the Crystal Heart, and I could see a new set of symbols in the air. “Something seems to be inverting the flow of emotion into and out of the Heart.”

“Inverting?”

“See here.” He pointed to one of the outermost runes. “This is where love and hope should be flowing in, strengthening the heart.” Tiny lights raced down the lines connecting each rune, invisible from further away. “When functioning normally, this is what should be happening.” He flicked his head, and the tiny points of light on the strings between the runes glowed brightly enough to be seen from afar. “The power goes into the Heart and then radiating out, forming the barrier around the city.” Some of the points traveled down the long lines and then out into the air through some of the other runes. “Right now, however…” He flicked his head again, and some of the runes and lights began to glow red instead of gold. The red dots traveled down the lines, but instead of being absorbed into the Heart they turned away at the runes, darting out and interfering with the flow into the Heart.

“You think there’s a spell outside the Heart doing this? Do you think that is causing this fog too?” Flurry Heart chased some of the red dots through the air, thankfully staying far away from the Heart itself.

“That is what I believe, yes. Sunburst thinks there should be a magic circle somewhere nearby, and we haven’t had the chance to go looking for it yet.” I considered this new information. It was a reasonable hypothesis, whoever did this was probably the same one who attacked Starlight. Something red glinted in the snow, I initially wrote it off as one of Sable’s illusionary symbols, but it didn’t glow quite the same way.

“What is that?” I pointed at it and brushed away some of the snow. It was a red rune, very similar to the one placed around the prison containing Starlight.

“I don’t know. I hadn’t seen it.”

“Do you think it might have something to do with the whatever is affecting the Heart?”

“Almost certainly.” He moved to another pile of snow and started to brush it aside. “There may be more, check under the snow.” I followed suit and began scraping the snow aside. Flurry Heart flited over, suddenly curious. As I kicked aside a snow pile Flurry dove into the cloud to play, and it warmed my heart to see the emotional manipulation seemed to have no direct effect on my niece. Perhaps the proximity of the Heart was driving the manipulation away? Or maybe it was because the infant’s emotions were too volatile to stay angry or suspicious for long.

Then Flurry sneezed, her natural Alicorn magic losing control for just a moment in the process. Wind gusted all around us, scattering snow and manes all away from the infant. The force knocked both Starlight and Sunburst over and nearly drove me into the ground. Sable was once again flung away, his glass wings shattering in the process. He ended up under a pile of snow at the far end of the courtyard. Flurry Heart giggled loudly. Sable’s illusion resembling little stars blinked out.

“Gesundhoof.” He deadpanned as he dug himself out of the snow. “That's one way to clear out the snow.” I looked around, spotting more of the glowing red runes. Lots of them, scattered nearly everywhere over the courtyard in no rhyme or reason I could see. “Well, now what?”

“We clear them out, obviously.” But the runes resisted removal. My hoof made no mark on it, and when I tried to wipe it away with a spell, it pulsed menacingly, triggering some of the others nearby to also glow. The direct approach may not have been the best. “Arg. It's not working.” These runes were significantly more carefully crafted than the trap around Starlight.

“Sunburst, do you have any thoughts?” Sable and I turned towards the other two unicorns, picking each other off the ground. Starlight grumbled, her words slurring to incomprehensibility, and resorted to a simple scowl as she plopped herself into a sitting position. It was clear she would be unable to help until she recovered. Sunburst, on the other hand, was carefully inspecting the nearest rune.

“Perhaps. It's obvious they are all connected, each one reinforces the ones next to it. Removing them one by one will be difficult.”

“What about getting rid of them all at once?” We turned towards Sable. He shrugged. “We have three unicorns skilled with magic and two Alicorns. Surely we can overcome this.”

“Sunburst, is he right?”

“Let me think…” The orange unicorn looked at each of us in turn, tapping at his jaw as he thought. “Yes, that could work.” He nodded. “We can use the reflective properties of the Heart to amplify our magic and disrupt the runes.”

“What are the risks?” Sable stepped closer to Sunburst, keeping a safe distance from the Heart. “Aside from simply failing to have any effect.”

“Well, if something were to go horribly wrong I guess we could get a magical rebound. Which could easily burn us out.”

“That is not encouraging.”

“Is there any other alternative?”

“Not without more study.” Sable and Sunburst conversed for a few moments longer, while I looked back at the Heart. Then I turned my attention to Flurry, floating nearby, and recalled the expressions on Cadence and Shining Armor’s faces as they shouted at each other.

“Let’s do it.” Sable and Sunburst fell silent, turning towards me. “We can’t let this continue. There are lives on the line; especially if a pony gets really angry, they might attack somepony special to them. We have to take these out now.” Starlight stood beside me, nodding even though she still couldn’t speak. Sunburst stepped closer, looking up at Flurry as well, he adjusted his glasses and nodded.

“Well then, we should get started.” We spent a few more minutes discussing the plan in detail. Sunburst, as the weakest among us in pure strength, was to direct our efforts and watch Flurry Heart, who was too young to assist. Myself, as the strongest by a significant margin, would provide the bulk of the power behind the ritual. Starlight Glimmer and Sable were to provide support for whatever I needed. With a plan in place, we took our positions in a triangular pattern around the Crystal Heart.

“Is everypony ready?” Sunburst took hold of Furry, keeping her close.

“Ready.” Sable nodded. Starlight made a noise that sounded affirmative.

“Yeah!” I focused on the Crystal Heart, and my own emotions. I wasn’t going to let Flurry Heart down.

“Begin!” As one the three of us launched beams of magical energy at the Crystal Heart. The red runes all began to glow brightly, the lines between them shimmering with the energy moving through them. I felt the resistance, the spell of the runes pulling at me from all sides. Then my strength was bolstered, Sable and Starlight helped focus me towards the Heart. Power crackled in the air, sparking off the Heart and out of the red runes in flashes so bright I could see them through my eyelids. It was working; I felt the runes stretching to their breaking points as the Heart amplified our spell. “Twilight! Look out!”

Then I opened my eyes and spotted the dark runes on the arched crystal above us where they had not been seen, they began to shine. Burning bright threads of power emitted from the runes above and looped themselves around me. Pain shot through me where they touched, and I screamed. It was a trap, worse than the one around Starlight’s prison! Our ritual flickered, Starlight stumbled, struggling to maintain the focus needed. Sable faltered entirely, his support vanishing from our spell. More blazing threads emitted from the runes above me, searing painfully. I forced myself to remain standing, this had to work, but with all this pain I could barely tell what I was doing, I couldn’t even see.

“It’s going to rebound!” Sunburst called out. I grit my teeth, pushing through. All at once the pain dissipated, and I heard a stallion shout. My focus returned, and Starlight reinforced me again. I blinked, where did the trap go?

“Keep going!” Sable shouted, twisting in pain. “Don’t stop!” He was drawing all the trap’s threads towards himself. They wrapped around him and squeezed, smoke rose off his coat. He screamed wordlessly. It must have been agony, but it gave me the chance I needed. I pumped all my power into the Heart, the time for subtly and caution had passed.

Light flashed, a thousand colors and more. Power reflected off the heart, not so much a physical shockwave as a flood of emotion washed over us, the runes shattering into a million glittering shards. The blistering threads around Sable flared one last time and burned themselves out. The fog across the city was wiped away, the snow clouds above burst like party balloons into a flurry of shimmering crystals, and the sun shined brightly, scattering rainbows all across the Crystal Empire.

“Yeth!” Starlight shouted, leaping in joy. I knew the feeling, the emotion amplified by the gleaming Crystal Heart. Flurry Heart laughed innocently, and Sunburst smiled broadly in the shining light.

Then I saw Sable Stardust. He stood, barely, seemingly frozen in place. His coat was a mass of seared cloth, still glowing with embers. He blinked slowly and managed to meet my eyes weakly. He smiled softly and fell over in a heap.

* * *

_“Goodness.”_

_“Did he really have to sacrifice himself like that?”_

_“I’m not sure. I might have been able to power through it.”_

_“The better choice would have been to try and remove the traps, rather than draw them all to him.”_

_“_ _Probably. But it worked.”_

* * *

 “Sable!” I rushed to his side, pleading to Celestia for him to be alright. The dark purple unicorn was barely breathing, I feared to touch him. “Sable, say something!”

“I think… I need to lie down.” I brushed the smoldering coat off him using magic, the searing strands of the trap had burned him pretty badly. He shook, still in pain.

“Why did you sacrifice yourself like that?”

“Had to. We were losing the spell.” He coughed. “Couldn’t let everypony down again.” He tried to shrug and grimaced. “Needs of the many, you know how it goes.” I almost laughed, but the situation was far too severe for that. Starlight and Sunburst came over, concern apparent in their faces. Flurry Heart spiraled around them just overhead, curious.

“No jokes, you need to stay still. We’ll get you some help soon.”

“Not… going… anywhere.” He fell unconscious, only the rise and fall of his chest told me he was still alive.

“Sunburst, see if you can find a doctor.” Sunburst nodded and bolted out to find help. By now I could hear Ponies in the city calling out in joy, aware that something had changed. Cadence and Shining Armor flashed in my mind. “I have to find the Princess and my brother. Starlight, stay here with Sable.” Glimmer tried to say something, but it only came out a mess again. She scowled at her inability to speak but nodded anyway. “Flurry, let's go find your parents.” The little Alicorn followed with a gleeful shout.

I galloped back into the palace, heading towards Cadence’s and Shining Armor’s bedroom, hoping to find one of them quickly. Along the way, I spotted several of the Palace staff starting to wander the corridors, confused but cheerful. Then I heard my brother calling out.

“Cadence! Where are you!” No joy in that voice, only panic and worry. I followed the echoing voice. “Cadence!” This time he got a response.

“Shining Armor!” I burst into the throne room in time to see my brother and my sister-in-law embrace, collapsing to the floor together. Tears were streaming down both their faces. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean anything I said.”

“I know, I know. I would never leave you.” Flurry Heart squealed, leaving my side and soaring to her parents. They looked up, and wide tearful smiles broke out as they took their daughter in their arms. “I would never abandon either of you.” They apologized to each other for several moments longer, barely able to speak through their tears. I smiled as I walked up to them, fighting back my relieved tears. Shining Armor blinked, holding his family tightly, as he finally looked up to see me standing there. “Thank you, sis.”

“I’m glad to help.” I helped them both stand, and they embraced again. “It’s good to see you two together again.”

“Twilight? What are you even doing here?” Cadence stood right up against Shining Armor’s side, holding Flurry very close. I felt my mark pulsing, and I looked at my flank to confirm.

“Well, I was here to fix a friendship problem, but it looks like everything’s alright now. I’ll tell you all about it.” It took a few more moments before they composed themselves. I explained what happened as I led them back to the Crystal Heart.

We returned to find a small crowd around Sable and Starlight. She apparently couldn’t keep them all at bay, too many were asking questions and pushing closer. I leaped over the herd, landing beside Starlight, trying to keep my wings between Sable’s blank flank and the crowd. I doubted any of them would care at this point, but I still wanted to protect his privacy if I could. Fortunately, Princess Cadence was able to take command of her subjects, and they respectfully backed away. I thanked her with a glance and then turned back towards Sable. He didn’t look any worse, or better. At least he was still breathing.

“Who is this?” Shining Armor stepped up next to me.

“Sable Stardust. A friend I met recently; the map sent us both here.”

“Is that… a blank flank?” Cadence stared in open amazement. Sable’s coat was all but ash; there was no way to hide it from them now.

“Please, don’t announce that so loud.” They looked at me, confused. “He’s sensitive about it.” Cadence nodded, still holding Flurry close, and stepped away to have a nearby pony sent off for a blanket. “Without him, I don’t think we could have fixed this so quickly, or maybe even at all.”

“What do you mean?”

“Yath, wut?” Starlight was finally regaining some of her speech, and she could focus her eyes again at least. Cadence returned, confused at Starlight’s poor pronunciation.

“He was the one to notice our emotions were being manipulated, and he’s the one who figured out what magic was influencing the Heart. It was pretty disabling, by the time we found Sunburst I was so mad I couldn’t see straight. Sunburst was so terrified that he could barely move.”

“Where is Sunburst, anyway?” I didn’t have to answer when the orange unicorn returned with doctors in tow. They lifted Sable onto a stretcher, hurrying him off to the hospital in a hurry. The cluster of crystal ponies murmured among themselves as the wounded pony passed. I watched them go with some trepidation, still worried about him. The others must have seen my worry, as Starlight put a supporting hoof on my shoulder.

“Don’ wrry.” I looked at her and found Starlight stretching out her mouth in annoyance. “He’ll be fine.” She brightened when she spoke normally again. “The doctors here are all top notch.” I glanced around, the herd was still crowding about in the Heart’s courtyard.

“We should clear the courtyard. There’s still something I need to ask Starlight… with less of an audience.”

“I got this.” Shining Armor took command, turning towards the assembled ponies. “All right, everything is under control. The Heart is perfectly fine, Everypony can go home now.” This satisfied most of them, a few hung around, either curious or suspicious.

“It really is alright.” Cadence certified. “The crisis is over. Please return to your families and homes.” The confirmation by the Princess herself satisfied those left, and they all filtered out to go back to their lives. The pony sent off for a blanket returned at that moment, and Cadence wrapped Flurry in it to explain its need before thanking the one who fetched it and sending them on their way.

“Now that we have some privacy, I have one important question for you Starlight.” I turned to the very light purple unicorn.

“You’re hoping I saw who did this, right?”

“That’s right. As far as I know, you are the only one who got attacked directly. What happened?”

“I got here a couple of days ago at noon, I could tell something was off, but I didn’t figure it out until the next morning.”

“I almost didn’t let her inside when she got to my place.”

“I went to find Princess Cadence, but when I got to the palace, I heard somepony calling my name. They lured me into the kitchen and attacked me from behind.”

“They knew your name? How did they find that out?”

“That’s what I remember, and we aren’t exactly low profile these days.” That much was true, we recently held a ceremony and gave her a medal for helping to save Equestria from Queen Chrysalis of the Changelings.

“Do you remember what they did to you?”

“It was like…” She hesitated, looking in the direction the Doctors took Sable, I silently thanked her for not bringing up the accident in front of uninvolved ponies. “They had me at their mercy, and just reached into my mind and took what they wanted. I’m going to have nightmares about this for a while.” She fixed her eyes on me. “And before you ask, no, I don’t know what they were trying to get out of me.”

“Did you see who it was?” In Cadence’s arms Flurry began to grow restless, she set her daughter free from the blanket, and the infant bounded over to a nearby pile of snow to start playing.

“Not very well. They were dark, nearly black, and they must have been a unicorn. But beyond that… not really.” Starlight brought a hoof to her mouth, looking side to side as she searched her memory. “Wait, there was one detail. There were these nasty scars all over their face.” She traced lines across her face in no particular pattern. “It was like their whole face was scratched up.”

“At least that will make it easy to identify them if they show up again. What do you think they were trying to do here?”

“Destabilizing the Crystal Empire? Imagine the chaos if this curse had gone on longer.” Shining Armor put an arm around Cadence’s foreleg, drawing her close. “Some things could have been done that can’t be fixed so easily.” The princess leaned into him, taking comfort in his presence. “Some pony could have gotten hurt, or worse.”

“I imagine some variation of this conversation is being had all over the Empire.” Cadence sighed. “I’m going to have to talk to a lot of upset ponies, aren’t I?”

“Probably.”

“Can we head inside now?” Complained Starlight. “I haven’t eaten since breakfast yesterday, and I’m getting hungry.” Everypony laughed a little, and we turned to head inside. Flurry waved at us, and Cadence and I went over to collect her. On the way I looked down at the snow Flurry was playing in, and stopped in my tracks. Flurry had drawn strange shapes in the snow, and they looked familiar.

“Starlight, you should see this.” The other unicorn came over, obviously curious. I pointed at the shapes in the snow. “Were these the marks on the pony who attacked you?” Starlight looked down, twisting her head around to see the lines from another angle.

“Yeah, that’s them. Flurry must have seen the intruder at some point.” Starlight gave the filly a head rub in thanks, and Flurry giggled. I made a mental note of the pattern, and something dropped in my gut. I didn’t know what to do with this new information. The lines drawn into the snow were distressingly similar to the lightning filigree of Sable’s silver mask.

* * *

_“That is profoundly ominous, for some reason. Is that ominous to you?”_

_“It is very strange.”_

_“What did it mean?”_

_“_ _It meant there was more going on than we realized. If I had only figured it out then, we would have been spared from so much trouble.”_

* * *

It took several long days before Sable was well enough to be up and about again, his burns healed quickly enough, but he had worsened his ribs and the doctors ordered bed-rest for him. Even once he was up he remained wrapped in bandages, I privately suspected he kept them on to hide his blank flank rather than for medical reasons, but did not press him on the issue. We spent one last day exploring the city and visiting with my friends, and Sable spent several hours talking with Sunburst about spells and old artifacts the orange unicorn had collected over the years. It raised my spirits to see him making a new friend. Eventually, our time here came to an end, and we had to return to Ponyville. As the three of us waited for the train, Shining Armor, Cadence, Flurry Heart, and Sunburst saw us off at the station.

“Thank you again, for all you’ve done for us.” Cadence and Shining Armor spoke with Sable while I played with Flurry, although I remained near enough to listen.

“I still think we owe you a medal or something. That was very brave of you.”

“I would be honored.” Sable bowed deeply and respectfully towards them both. “However, I would request no elaborate ceremony.” The Princess and her husband shared a confused glance. “It would only draw attention to myself I do not want.”

“Even then.” Cadence laughed a little. “You will always be a welcome friend in the Crystal Empire, even if you don’t want the recognition you deserve.”

“I did what needed to be done.” He shrugged, but something in his stance and very slight hesitation in his voice told me there was something more to it. The three nodded to each other one last time, and the royal couple turned away to speak with Starlight, leaving room for Sunburst to speak with Sable now. The purple and orange unicorns faced each other. “Thank you for the spellbook.” Sable looked back to his saddlebag beneath his wings, where the gift from Sunburst resided.

“It’s no problem, I’ve got plenty more. There is a lot of interesting magic in there to keep you busy for a while. And you really must tell me how you made those wings someday.”

“That seems to be a common theme.” Sunburst, uncertain what he meant, laughed nervously. “Perhaps I will, someday.” The train pulled in to the station, brakes screeching. He gave Sunburst a slight bow, very much like his usual greeting, and the two parted ways. Starlight joined Stardust by the train car’s door, and I took Flurry Heart back to her parents.

“It’s always good to see you both. You should come down to Ponyville more often.”

“Yeah, we really should.” My brother ruffled my mane. “But you know how it goes with so many royal duties.”

“Goodbye Flurry, I’ll miss you.” I nuzzled Flurry’s nose with my own, causing the infant to break out in giggles. Then the train whistled, and I turned to run through the open door before I missed the train. Cadence called out just before the door closed.

“Good luck with Sable! Have fun, you two!” There was a playful tone to her words, and the Crystal Princess laughed.

“Wait, what do you mean by that?” But the door sealed shut before I could get any response. Confused, I joined Sable and Starlight on open seats as the train pulled away from the station. Sable was watching the Crystal Empire vanish into the distance.

“That was an eventful visit. Not very relaxing though.” Starlight tried to draw him into the conversation, but he didn’t respond.

“I’m just glad it all turned out well in the end. It could have been worse.”

“A lot worse.” He didn’t say anything else or even look in our direction. Starlight and I shared a glance; Sable didn’t appear to be very talkative on trains it seemed.

“So…” Starlight searched for a conversation topic. “How are your burns?”

“Healing.” The train clacked over the tracks. For a while, no one spoke. Sable took out the spellbook Sunburst gave him and started to peruse it. I pondered his response to Shining Armor and Cadence at the station. His reaction still bothered me for some inexplicable reason.

“Sable.” He tried to ignore me, but I didn’t take my eyes off him, I could tell he was watching me through the corner of his vision. Eventually, he sighed, and finally turned towards me when I didn’t stop watching him. “I know you probably don’t want to talk about it. But why did you sacrifice yourself back there?” He looked down to his book and slowly closed it.

“It had to be done.” The same answer he gave the others. He met my eyes for an instant, I knew there was more to it than that, and he could clearly read my disappointment in my expression. “To be honest…” He hesitated for a moment longer. Starlight pretended to look away and give him a bit more privacy. “I did it… because I was the expendable one.” Silence fell between us again; I had no response to this. Starlight looked at me, equally lost for words. The wheels clicked and clacked down the rails for several long moments before I spoke.

“Sable, you are not expendable.” Gently I put one hoof on Sable’s; he twitched at my touch. “Why would you think that?”

“Both of you are stronger and more experienced with magic than I am. I had already lost my place within the ritual.” He threw out several attempts to justify his actions. Even if they might be true, I couldn’t be sure he believed the excuses himself.

“That was still incredibly reckless.” It was Starlight speaking first. “You could have been killed.”

“Better me than you. You have both saved Equestria, nearly legendary. Who am I? Just a random pony with no past.” He glanced down to his side, at his blank flank underneath the bandages. “And no destiny.”

“You’re our friend.” I used one wing to hug Sable. He blinked, confusion on his face. “Promise me you won’t ever try to sacrifice yourself like that again.” I released him, and his gaze dropped to the floor. I could see him contemplating his answer. “Please.”

“I can’t do that.” I had no response for this, what could I say? “If ever came to it, you matter more to Equestria than I ever will. If my life were the cost to save you, then it would be a price I could pay.”

“That's very noble of you.” Starlight spoke up again. “But I think I speak for both of us when I say we don’t want you to throw your life away in a senseless sacrifice.”

“It wouldn’t be senseless.” It was easy to read his discomfort now, and I interrupted before Starlight could speak again.

“I think I can safely say I sincerely hope we never have to have this particular conversation again.” Starlight laughed, and even Sable cracked a faint smile. Then he went back to his gift from Sunburst, and the rest of the trip home passed peacefully.

 


	5. The Ashen Thief

_“You did figure out who did that, didn’t you?”_

_“Yes. This was our first encounter with him. But not the last…”_

_“Are you alright? You don’t look so good.”_

_“I’ll be fine. I’ll be fine…”_

_“It’s nice to know that everything went back to normal in the Crystal Empire.”_

_“Yes, that was a relief. For a while, things were peaceful in Ponyville too.”_

_“How much ‘slice of life’ are you going to give us?”_

_“Not much, I’ll skip most of it. Although, there was one day which, now that I think about it, was pretty important…”_

* * *

 In the weeks after the events in the Crystal Empire, Sable settled into a routine. Most nights he spent alone, often reading in his room at the castle of friendship or outside in the park until long after everypony else had gone to sleep. When he woke late each morning, he would come to me, or one of my friends, to assist in our daily tasks. He proved to be helpful and intelligent, willing to do whatever job we set him despite the occasional mishap. Still, every time we met, it seemed a frown was never far from his face. I easily saw his discontent, one night I asked him what bothered him. His only answer for me was that nothing he did seemed to fulfill him, and looked back to his blank flank. Despite the strength to thrive I saw in him that day where his hovel had stood it was clear his lack of a cutie-mark still weighed heavily on him.

Of the mysterious figure that had attacked the Crystal Empire, we heard no more. Despite alerting the princesses Celestia and Luna to the threat, no pony had seen hide nor mane or sign of the dark unicorn with the scarred face Starlight saw when she was assaulted. Although the concern the attack left in my mind never truly vanished the peaceful everyday life in Ponyville and the duties of my station took it from my mind until it was nothing more than a niggling worry.

Today, at last, I had little that required my attention. I found myself knocking on Sable’s door in the later hours of the morning.

“Sable, are you awake yet?”

“Hmm, yes, I’m awake.” His voice was groggy, and I suspected he was only now prying himself out of bed. Hoofsteps approached the door, and it cracked open slightly, the interior was dark, the windows closed. “Do you need something?” Sable looked tired, blinking bleary eyes in the bright light.

“It’s a fine day out, and I’ve got plenty of free time today, I thought we could do something.”

“One moment please.” The door shut, although I could still hear him moving about within. Light seeped out through the crack under the door for an instant, and I heard him casting his wing spell before the door opened again. Sable stepped out, yawning, stretching his wings and legs, and wearing a new replacement coat Rarity made for him. “I really need to stop sleeping in so late.” He shut the door behind him as he stepped into the hall.

“Are you sleeping well?”

“Somewhere between not well enough and not at all.”

“I'm sorry to hear that.” He narrowed his eyes momentarily, why was it he felt so insulted by sympathy? “Are you having nightmares?”

“Not really. Thinking, reading. Mostly just not sleeping.” I considered that I should introduce him to Princess Luna if he was spending so much time up late at night. I knew the Princess of the Night had a hard time interacting with most ponies as they were all usually asleep by the time she was active. Both of them could use more friends. “So, what was it you wanted to do?”

“Actually, I was hoping we could do something you wanted to do.” He blinked, uncertain. “We’ve been giving you tasks and chores to keep you busy, but I don’t think we’ve ever done anything fun that you wanted.” He started down the hallway, towards the kitchen, apparently thinking it over. I was mildly ashamed to think that his indecisiveness bothered me. He was silent until they reach the kitchen.

“I’m going to need quill and paper.”

“Thought of something?”

“I was considering going down to the lake and sketching.” He took a pear and an apple from the counter, munching on them absentmindedly.

“I didn’t know you were into drawing.”

“Neither do I.” I laughed softly, Sable smiled faintly.

“Although I was kind of hoping to, you know, do something. Sketching isn’t exactly a group activity.”

“You asked.” He shrugged and then hesitated for an instant. “And you are welcome to join me anyways.”

“A picnic by the lake sounds like a fine way to spend a lazy free afternoon.” Effortlessly I summoned my picnic basket, as well as plates, drinks, and everything else needed for an excursion from around the kitchen. Sable watched the activity with a little bit of surprise evident on his face, no doubt he was a little bit jealous of my precise control over so many objects at once. Lastly, I collected the goods to make salads from my pantry, packing everything away underneath a folded blanket. The whole process took less than a minute. “Now we just need those drawing supplies, and we can be on our way.”

“I’m going to take a wild guess and assume you mean dropping by your library to get some books.”

“Of course.” I answered with a smile. It was also where I kept my extra scrolls and quills. We took the short detour back up to the library, where I pulled down some light reading for the outing. Sable gathered the supplies he needed, and we turned to leave. Then I paused and looked back to collect one last book. My collection didn’t have anything in the way of instructional books about art, although I did have some on art history. I pulled one down to add to my saddlebag before leading Sable outside.

The sky outside was clear of clouds, and the sun shined brightly overhead. A gentle breeze flowed through the town, and the ponies we met along the way greeted us warmly. On the way to the lake, I paused to chat for a moment with a few of them I knew. Although Sable was silent for the most part, he was at least polite when directly addressed. It wouldn’t have been unlikely that he was never very outgoing to begin with, he implied as much to me, so his reluctance to speak up made sense.

When we reached the lake, we found we were the only ponies about it today, despite the excellent weather for a swim. Sable wandered over to the shade beneath a nearby tree on the shore, where we set up for the gentle afternoon. He dropped down on the blanket, cross-legged, with the blank parchment in front of him. Then he took a quill from our supplies, placed it upon the page, and did nothing. I watched him for a moment, setting the basket down between us, waiting for him to start drawing. Yet he did nothing, just sat there looking out over the lake. Maybe my attention was distracting him.

I sat down with my book on the other side of the basket, and we spent a long time in silence. Although there was no dialog between us, the afternoon was peaceful and calming. Now and then I heard Sable’s quill scratching on the parchment, often only for a moment. I gave him the space to think, instead diving into my art history. The pages of that tome were filled with reproductions of some of the many great artists of Equestria’s past. In truth I had never really paid much attention to the subject of painted art, preferring the written word and the occasional antique. Although it was easy to see why these were considered some of the greats, with soft impressionist works of flowers and night skylines and idyllic representations of the pastoral life alongside grand depictions of Celestia’s raising of the sun.

The dappled shadows of the sun through the leaves of the tree above on the pages of the soft artworks and the songs of birds in the trees about the lake eventually lulled me to a serene peace, and I found myself nearly falling asleep. So I set the art history aside, it was pretty but not particularly intellectually challenging and switched instead to the other book I brought, a hefty tome on philosophy. This kept my mind attentive, and I lost myself in its pages and the discussions of morality it presented. Time passed like this, in the quiet afternoon shade, until…

“Cannonball!” I had just enough time to blink and look up before Rainbow Dash slammed into the lake’s surface at high speed. Water spouted high into the air in a huge plume and fell towards us in an onrushing wave. Reflexively I shielded my books using my wings and braced for the torrent. The wave crashed down, our basket and lunches washing away. When the pull of the water ebbed, I looked sadly at my tomes, now dripping wet. Sable glanced over, his face seemingly stuck in dull surprise, water ran off a barrier he managed to place around himself just in time to avoid being thoroughly drenched. I mentally kicked myself for not doing the same.

“Rainbow Dash!” The blue pegasus with rainbow hair popped her head out of the water and looked over when I shouted.

“Hey, Twilight, Stardust. I didn’t see you there.” Dash started to swim around using the backstroke. “I thought today would be good for a swim. What are you two up to?”

“So much for our lunch.” Sable looked around for our basket, thrown somewhere far off. I held up my books, dripping wet.

“I was enjoying a nice afternoon, reading.” Some anger seeped into my voice. Dash glanced up from the lake’s surface. “You trashed my books!”

“Oh, sorry, my bad.” Then she dived out of view into deeper water. I sighed, maybe the books were salvageable.

“Well then.” Sable brought himself to his feet and removed his coat. Now I saw why he structured his wings to not connect directly to his body; the coat slips out from beneath them easily. It fell well within the uncanny valley for me, or any pony with wings. “Enough sketching.” He dropped his coat, wet around the edges, where he was standing and leaped into the air. There he waited until Dash surfaced again and swooped down to skim the water’s surface. His hooves sent up a splash right into Rainbow Dash’s face, and he swung back into the air with a laugh.

“What the? What was that for?” Dash sputtered her complaint.

“Fair’s fair, Rainbow Splash!” He laughed as he swung around in a long arc to make another pass. Dash rocketed her way out of the water, forming up beside Sable with a wide grin. They took turns passing each other, trying to make larger and more massive waves on each swing. I left the two of them to their games, setting out my books to dry. The text was smudged badly but was mostly still legible. The art history book did not fare so well, many of the images were wrecked. Oh well, Starlight could probably fix them.

For a moment I considered joining the other two in playing in the lake, they had given up the splashing game in favor of free-falling dives out towards the middle. Then I spotted Sable’s parchment beneath the edge of his coat and pulled it out before whatever he’d done got ruined underneath the still damp coat. I spread it out, my curiosity got the better of me, and I looked over what he’d made.

It was quite clear he was no master, I had to turn my head several times to even recognize the lake. Scattered across the page were somewhat more detailed images of birds in flight, he was better with lifeforms than with landscapes. Some of the wings were drawn with skeletal structures as if he were studying them instead of drawing for fun. Also present were some mathematic formulas which appeared to involve gear ratios, and describing circular patterns. Exactly what for, I had no idea. In some ways, they reminded me of the half-formed thoughts I had seen on his plans to repair his hovel’s foundation. There were also a series of swirling circles within circles; they looked more like doodles than proper drawings.

What really drew my attention was a single meticulous image towards the lower left corner. Carefully crafted, especially compared to the lake or even the birds, was a unique pony. It was laying down; front hooves crossed gently, eyes half-closed with a faint smile on its face. Then I startled when I realized who it was. It was all greyscale, but the mane matched my own, and there was a scratched in shape which must have been a book in front of it. He had been sketching me, and it was even pretty good.

I drew myself away from the page, looking up to find Sable, but neither Dash nor he was visible. Come to think of it; I hadn’t heard any splashing for a little while. Then Dash surfaced out in the middle of the lake. I laid out Sable’s sketches to dry and waved her over.

“Where’s Sable?” Rainbow Dash glanced around when I asked, mildly confused.

“We were seeing who could dive deeper. He was right behind me.” Now worried, I took to the air, circling the center of the lake. Dash pulled herself onto the shore and shook off the water, before also joining me above the lake. The depths were too dark; if he was down there, I couldn’t see him. I was about to dive under myself when something flashed in the deepest part of the lake. I hovered over the position, peering into the murk. “There!” Rainbow Dash pointed to the shore. A dark figure pulled itself out of the lake, laying on the beach still half in the water.

“Sable?! Are you alright?” We landed beside the prone pony. He was gasping for air. I lifted him the rest of the way out of the lake and set him down on the nearby grass. His wings had vanished; presumably, the flash of light I saw was them dispelling. He coughed a few times before weakly raising a hoof towards us.

“Note to self. Glass wings make poor fins.” Weakly he even tried to laugh. “I’ll be alright.” I let out a held breath, and Dash relaxed her wings. “Although I think I’ve had enough lake for today.”

“Dude, I know you just almost drowned and everything, but you so won.”

* * *

_“Do you think she noticed?”_

_“Not a chance.”_

_“What are you two giggling about? I didn’t notice, what?”_

_“No, she really didn’t.”_

_“…?”_

* * *

On the table before me sat the amulet in silver, black, and red. The bulk of the medallion was a mostly triangular wedge of silver, with the image of a unicorn head atop one edge. Two outstretched pegasus wings, red with black feathers, flanked the unicorn head. A large red diamond sat at the center. It was the Alicorn Amulet. Twice now it had threatened Ponyville, once when Trixie used to surpass me some years ago, and now recently when Sable Stardust tried to use it to travel through time.

Twice too many times. After we tricked Trixie into removing the amulet we had given it to Zecora to hide in the Everfree forest. Somehow, before his attempt at the map, Sable was able to find it. I thanked Celestia that Sable had removed it without complaint after the accident, I still didn’t know why he was so compliant about it. Had he refused… I didn’t know how we would have dealt with that; the amulet can only be removed by the wearer. I had been keeping it in my room, locked in a cabinet, ever since.

For too long had I put off dealing with it. Leaving it unsecured was dangerous. Even here in my room behind lock and key it was too exposed; castles could be infiltrated, locks could be picked or broken. A more permanent solution was required. Perhaps I should have destroyed it. There was undoubtedly merit behind that line of thought. It would definitively have removed it from being a threat ever again. Then again, could I have done that safely? It was a powerful magical artifact, destroying it carelessly might cause an eruption of magical energy which might have devastated Ponyville. What if someday its powers might have been needed? Sable was aware of its corrupting influence; presumably, he intended to remove it the moment he completed his spell, maybe its threats could be tempered? I could only conclude that outright destruction was not a wise choice of action.

At that moment the only thing really preventing anypony from making off with it was the fact that only I knew where it was. I supposed it wouldn’t be hard for Starlight Glimmer to figure it out, and if he so chose Sable might have been able to determine where it was, even Spike might have been able to stumble on it without meaning to. It couldn’t stay here. But where could I hide it where it couldn’t ever be claimed without dire need? Trap laden temples and catacombs get uncovered and draw the adventurous by merely existing. I could have put it back where Zecora had placed it, but that was apparently too easy to discover. I had no answer.

With a heavy sigh, I put it back into the cabinet, behind a false panel, and then sealed the locking mechanism of the hidden door with magic, turned the key to the mundane lock, and lastly placed a ward around the cabinet to alert me should anypony try to open it. The key I set in my dresser among many nearly identical such keys. Some might have called me paranoid, others not paranoid enough. I wasn’t sure which I was. For the moment, I didn’t know what to do with it.

I paced my room, pondering the problem. My final conclusion was that I first needed to know how it was Sable found the amulet in the first place. Without closing that loophole any attempt to hide it again was mostly pointless. I should also have to speak with Zecora, to figure out what security measures the Zebra had placed around it the first time. At last with a course of action to take, I headed out. To no surprise, I found Sable in the library, the table in front of him covered in open books, and a curious pile of clockwork gears and papers, one of which seemed to be the page of sketches he made at the lake.

“Sable, do you mind if we talk?”

“Hmm?” He didn’t look up from the book he was reading.

“This is important.” At this, he blinked and set the book down.

“Oh?”

“Do you remember what I asked you to do right after the accident?” Silence sat in the air for a moment before he answered.

“If I recall correctly, you had me remove a medallion I was wearing for some reason.”

“That's right. I don’t suppose you know where you got it?”

“No, I don’t.” I sighed, not honestly expecting any other answer. “I haven’t seen it since if it matters. Why?”

“I was hoping you knew where you got it, that's all.” He eyed me suspiciously but did not press the matter. I shook my head and stepped over towards his stuff on the table. “So, what are you up to?”

“Oh.” He glanced down at his pile of little metal gears and tools. “Just a little something I wanted to try.”

“Do you need any help?”

“No.” He answered, just a little too quickly. “No, that's alright. I would like to do this on my own, please.”

“OK, I was just curious. I’m going to head out for a while. Have fun.” I waved and turned away as he nodded farewell, by this point a very familiar expression. He went back to his project, and I made my way out of town.

Zecora’s home was within the Everfree forest itself, although far from the dangerous depths. The zebra carved out her residence in the heart of an old tree; several lanterns hung outside. When I drew near the door swung open, and a little yellow filly with a red mane decorated with a pink bow emerged from within.

“Bye, Zecora! I’ll see you next time!” The little filly almost bumped into me in her hurry. “Hey Twilight, I would love to talk, but I gotta run!” Applejack’s sister hurried away, heading back towards town. With a laugh, Zecora stepped outside.

“Off she goes, the little Apple Bloom. Ah, Twilight, what brings you to my room?” The Zebra gestured for me to enter. A cauldron in the middle of the room bubbled, full of a green liquid. Tribal masks and dream-catchers covered the walls not occupied by shelves of alchemical supplies.

“Hello, Zecora. I need to talk to you about the Alicorn Amulet.” I closed the door behind me as the Zebra began to clean up her potions and ingredients, she sometimes helped teach Apple Bloom the craft.

“Oh, what a terrible mess is that thing. Of what tidings do you need me to bring?”

“Well… someone found it.” Zecora stopped in place, turning to face me. She opened her mouth to speak, and then closed it, for once unable to find the words she wanted. “Don’t worry, I’ve got it secured for the moment. But I need to know where and how you hid it.”

“Fate has made me the fool. It has used me as a tool. I had buried the Amulet beneath an old tree. Out alone in the forest of the Everfree.”

“Without any precautions?”

“Secrecy was to be my only guard. I thought finding it would be too hard.”

“Oh… rats.” I had really been hoping Zecora could tell me more.

“Rodents, I suspect, are uninvolved. This conundrum remains unresolved.” I started to pace. “Do you wish to see where it lay? I can easily show you the way.”

“I don’t think it matters now. All we would find is a hole or a shovel, and maybe the box it was in if we were lucky.”

“Tell me then what is your plan? You cannot guard it your whole lifespan. What of they who discovered its place? Unless you do not know their face.”

“He doesn’t remember how he found it. It's a long story. The abridged version is that he screwed up while wearing it, and lost his memory.”

“That is unfortunate in the extreme. Perhaps the truth a potion will gleam?”

“Do you mean you can brew a potion that will return his memory?”

“Tricky is the mind. One might be refined.” Zecora looked over her many and varied supplies. “Be warned, however, this task will take time. Even for me, such a brew is no simple paradigm.” With a smile on my face, I gave Zecora a big hug. “Bring me here this friend. I will see what I can mend.”

* * *

_“I was wondering when you would get back to the Amulet.”_

_“If I had only destroyed it when I had the chance…”_

_“Twilight, you don’t need to beat yourself up so much.”_

_“If I had, or if I had placed better security on it, I wouldn’t have had to come back in time.”_

_“Oh my. This means it was a threat again?”_

_“Very much so.”_

* * *

 The alarm sounded before I was even halfway back to the castle. It pinged in my mind, an urgent warning, only a moment before my warding at the castle shot a beam of light into the air, visible even from within the Everfree forest. I broke into a run and then leaped into the air. Below me, the canopy gave way to the fields surrounding Ponville, the castle visible in the distance. As I drew closer, I could see colors flashing through the windows of the map room and quickened my pace. The last time I saw that… was it Sable again? My mark was not pulsing the way it was last time, was that a good sign?

I considered teleporting inside, but if this were Sable doing this, he would undoubtedly have blocked such spells again. I landed at the door instead, pulling them open with magic. At least they weren’t sealed this time. Spike was not to be found on the floor with a migraine, thank Celestia for small favors. Neither was Starlight encased in crystal; she was out in town earlier. I burst into the map room, and an errant beam of energy nearly struck me.

Sable and another unicorn were locked in combat, the air so full of static charge that sparks flew off all the crystals and gems hanging from the chandelier. Lightning erupted from Sable’s horn, carving erratic lines towards the intruder only to bounce off a shield. They traded energy beams, each one darting aside for the laser to strike a wall and crack the structure. Fortunately, the map had not been hit yet.

I dodged another stray blast of power by taking to the air, trying to get a handle on the situation. The other unicorn hadn’t seen me yet, his body was the color of blackened charcoal and his mane like ashen dust, I didn’t get a good look at his cutie-mark in the chaos. The two paused the fight for an instant, trying to out-think the other. Sable spotted me in the air, his neon blue eyes glancing my way only long enough to confirm I was really there. It was all the intruder needed, striking Sable hard in the chest. He crumpled against the wall, stunned, his wings exploding into glass shards before vaporizing.

I slammed down to the floor in front of the defeated Sable, ready to take on the intruder. I could only now see his face, and my first spell faltered in surprise. His furious visage was raked with scar lines, surrounding his ember red eyes and lining his jaw and forehead. There was no doubt in my mind this was the same stallion who attacked Starlight in the Crystal Empire.

“Who are you!” The intruder only snarled at my demand, firing a beam of magic at me. I conjured a substantial barrier around Sable and me, his magic crashed into it, but my shield held. Magic flashed, an aura the color of burning cinders, blinding me for a moment. When I could see again, the intruder was focusing already, but I was faster. This time it was the intruder who slammed into the wall, momentarily stunned, and I reestablished my shield around us.

I took the lull in the fight to look back; Sable was clambering back to his feet. He nodded towards me but kept his eyes locked on the enemy. A second flash against my shield told me the intruder was already back in fighting shape. Sable fired off a return volley as I dropped my barrier, his neon blue beams trying to hem the intruder into a corner. One such beam nearly hit the map table; this was no place for a fight. I darted forward onto the table, placing a giant shield around the center of the room, protecting the map. Unfortunately, I couldn’t fight back while maintaining the protection, but the table was too valuable to risk.

Fortunately, my presence alone gave Sable the advantage. He fired arcing bolts of lightning over my barrier dome, able to take the offensive from a place of safety. The intruder could see his advantage was lost, and he dodged the bolts of lighting, his magic exploded against the wall along with Sable’s lightning. The structure gave way, a hole opening in the wall behind the intruder. He turned to flee, and Sable leaped over my barrier to pursue.

A quick glance around the room told me the map is safe, although the castle would need repairs. Several near misses have destroyed some of the chairs, many of the walls are badly cracked, and the floor riddled with burn marks. It could all be fixed later. I dropped my barrier and teleported outside.

An explosion sent shockwaves through the air as the two combatant’s spells collided. Sable and the intruder both seemed more willing to use stronger magic now they were both outside. I soared overhead, peppering small concussive blasts on the intruder, trying to knock him unconscious without seriously hurting him. But with more room to move the charcoal black unicorn was able to make quick teleports to put himself outside my blast zone. Each appearance was marked with a thunderclap eerily similar to Sable’s imperfect teleportations.

Unrelenting, the intruder continued to fire at Sable, apparently unwilling to face me head on for some reason. My friend was not as agile as I was, and it was only because I established shields around him did he avoid taking hard hits. Even protected he faltered, the ashen maned unicorn concentrated briefly, and Sable was encased within a crystal, rearing in an attempt to get away.

As the intruder closed on the now petrified Sable, I landed between them, standing unbowed and tall. Again the charcoal unicorn snarled and snorted, only now turning his full attention to me. I wasted no time in trapping him within layered barriers as he fired on me. His spell collided with my first shield, and the interior of the prison was awash in blinding light. My guards held.

Lightning crashed around me, and I looked up to find the trespasser in the air, falling towards me with horn sparking. I teleported above him, and blasted him down hard, spinning him into the ground. Somehow he managed to land on his feet and dashed away to gain some distance. I used the time to return to the field and freed Sable from the crystal prison. He nodded his thanks, refusing to take his eyes off the other unicorn again.

We squared off again, Sable and I side by side as we faced the intruder. I could have ended this quickly if I were willing to kill him outright. The intruder was breathing heavily already; surely he couldn’t keep this up for much longer.

A new beam of energy fired in from above and behind the charcoal pony. The lance struck close to the intruder, sending him stumbling aside. I glanced up to find Starlight Glimmer, levitating using a spell, descending towards us. Sable bolted to the side, and the three of us surrounded the trespasser. The ashen maned pony spun, trying to keep them all in view as we slowly closed on him, and snarled wordlessly.

“Surrender! You can’t hope to win against us all!” Sable’s command was met only with scorn on the intruder’s scarred face. He began to focus, power gathering in a searing bright light at the tip of his horn. I hadn’t seen this spell in use before, but I recognized the threat it posed.

“Starlight, Sable, get out of there! He’s going to explode!” The other two unicorns backed away, But before his spell completed the charcoal unicorn disappeared with a thunder-crack, reappearing again up in the air, and hurled the blazing star of fire down at us. We were still too close, that much raw magic power would outright destroy all of us!

I had only one chance and began forming a shield around the point of impact. The falling star burst into a terrifying flare the moment it reached the ground. My barrier sealed in the blaze, it took nearly all my focus to maintain it against the force of the explosion. The star burned, refusing to be extinguished. With a mighty swing of my head, I flung the entire shield bubble with the encased star high into the air.

The star flew high, disappearing behind the clouds. I dropped the shield, and the air was split by a mighty explosion, for an instant, there were two suns in the sky. The shockwave hit, flinging every nearby pony to the ground and shattering several of the castle’s windows. The cacophony from the detonation echoed into the distance, and we all got back to our feet. A quick glance around the area didn’t reveal the intruder anywhere in sight.

“Is everypony alright?” I continued to watch for the charcoal unicorn to reappear. Surely he didn’t destroy himself?

“Nice catch, Twilight!” Starlight approached, looking a little frazzled but unhurt.

“I’ll survive.” Sable was less upbeat, limping when he put his right forelimb down. “What insanity was that?”

“Raw power, barely contained. I’ve never met a pony willing to risk themselves with a spell like it. Do you see him anywhere?” Starlight and Sable both looked around; the charcoal colored stallion was nowhere to be seen.

“If I were him, I would be running or hiding right now.” Sable frowned. “That kind of spell would have nearly drained even the strongest of unicorns.”

“I agree.” Starlight nodded but continued to eye the surrounding area suspiciously. “What do you think he was after?”

“I don’t know. I was in the castle when I heard an explosion. I caught him trying to break into a cabinet in Twilight’s room. He attacked me, and I fought back.” I didn’t get a chance to explain about my alarm going off before glass shattered again, this time, not Sable’s wings, it came from the castle. We looked up to see the blackened charcoal unicorn standing at the window to my room, blasted open, holding a triangular silver medallion high above his head. I could hear his victorious laughter from here.

“No! The Amulet!” But we were too slow, and the intruder disappeared in a flash of lightning. His teleport rematerialized somewhere nearby; I heard the thunder crash. My wings took me high, trying to spot him before he got away. All I could find were repeated cracks of his rapid teleportation, each one further away and fainter than the last. It was only a few instants before it was quite clear the intruder had escaped, with his prize.

* * *

_“Oh, that's bad.”_

_“Now I see why you wanted to get rid of the Amulet.”_

_“…Not yet you haven’t.”_

_“…”_

_“At least it wasn’t me in the crystal again.”_

* * *

 “What did he take?” It was Sable who asked. The three of us stood in my room, facing the now blasted cabinet where I had hidden the amulet. It would seem my fears about it being too lightly defended were well founded.

“The Alicorn Amulet.” Sable tilted his head; he clearly didn’t remember it. “It is a powerful magical artifact, which grants nearly unsurpassed powers to the one wearing it.”

“It also corrupts them, making them more and more unstable with each spell cast.”

“You were wearing it during your accident. Only the one wearing it can take it off, that why I had to ask you to do it.” Sable let his gaze drop to his hooves, carefully considering the ramifications of this revelation. I looked around my room, other than the blown out window and the broken door there was very little other damage. I would have expected the room to be ransacked as the intruder searched the room. “It would seem he knew exactly where to find it. How did he know?”

“Could that be what he took from me, in the Crystal Empire?”

“I doubt it. I never told you where I hid it.” I shook my head. “He couldn’t have pinpointed it so precisely if all he knew was that I had it.” I started to pace again. “Ooh, I should have destroyed it when I had the chance.”

“You can’t really blame yourself, we had no idea there was somepony out there willing to take such a wild risk to steal it right out from under you.”

“It was stolen once before; Sable found it where Zecora had hidden it inside Everfree Forest.” I stopped pacing, looking out through the shattered window at the forest in the distance. “We have to find him and get it back. Before he does something crazy.”

“But how? He could be anywhere by now. We don’t even know which direction he ran off in.”

“I know, I know, you don’t have to state the obvious.” I snapped back, and Glimmer frowned towards me. “Sorry, I’m just a little bit stressed right now.”

“It's alright. We’ll figure this out somehow.” Silence fell for a long moment, nopony had an immediate answer.

“I know how we can find him.” Sable spoke, having been quiet for a while. “He’s got the Amulet.” He said this as if it were supposed to answer the question.

“Yeah. How does that help us? Are you expecting to follow a trail of destruction?”

“We can trace him the same way I found the Amulet in the first place.” Sable looked out the window. “I remember now. I have a spell which can track it.”

“Isn’t that convenient. How did you manage that?” Now he turned to affix his gaze on Starlight.

“I don’t remember how I got the spell, some ancient or obscure tome? Maybe I made it up myself. We can argue about what I knew, and when, later. Are we going after the Amulet or not?”

“It doesn’t matter.” I interrupted before they descended into bickering. “We have to go after him immediately. In the hooves of someone so reckless, it can only lead to disaster. Do it, Sable.” He nodded and faced the window again. He focused, and I watched him carefully. Magical circles, manifested by his magic, appeared around his horn. An arrow at the center of his spell, just past his horn’s tip, spun wildly before pointing in the direction of the amulet, quivering slightly. I followed the arrow with my eyes.

“South, the amulet has gone south.” Sable’s spell dissipated, the arrow vanishing.

“Alright, I’ll get the others, and we can get moving.” Glimmer and I turned towards the door, but Sable hesitated, still looking out the broken window. “Let's go, Sable!”

“Twilight Sparkle, wait a moment.” I stopped, ears raised, as he faced me. “I don’t think the others should come.”

“What? Why?”

“This unicorn we are chasing now has one of the most dangerous artifacts in Equestria, right? We already know he is willing to use lethal force against us. We can each protect ourselves, via shield or escape. With five others alongside, can we protect them all?” He made a good point, and I took a moment to consider. “Rainbow Dash and Applejack are both physically capable, but against such power… I don’t want to lead them into danger when we cannot keep them safe.”

“This is hardly going to be a picnic for us either.” Starlight waited by the door, agitated.

“Of that, I am acutely aware. I worry I might be the load among us. This adversary has already bested me, even without the power of the Amulet. In the end, I might only be useful for finding them in the first place.”

“Don’t say that. You held him off, all alone, long enough for me to get back.” I stepped up to him and placed a supporting hoof on his shoulder. “Don’t sell yourself short just yet.” He glared at my hoof for an instant, still sensitive about being touched, although he didn’t pull away.

“Still, can you really say you want to bring Fluttershy to face this threat?” He locked his eyes on me, waiting for an answer. I dropped my head; it would be dishonest to say I did. “Risking myself to fix a mistake I made is one thing. I will not ask it of them.”

“And are we any different? You’re asking it of us.” Sable made to answer Starlight’s question but stopped himself. Two more times he went to retort, and each time he realized he had none. At last, he dipped his head, defeated.

“We want to help, Sable.” I lifted his head with my own hoof until he met my eyes. “Give them the chance to make that choice themselves.”

* * *

_“I can understand why he didn’t want us to come along.”_

_“The thief does sound scary.”_

_“Even then, there’s no way any of us stayed behind.”_

_“I’m really glad you all did come along. Particularly Fluttershy.”_

_“What did I do? I’m sure I couldn’t have captured the thief myself.”_

_"It wasn't what you did against the thief that mattered. It was what you did for Sable."_

* * *

 One and all, they volunteered, even Fluttershy and Spike. It was Applejack who suggested the plan we decided on using. We took the next train south, with Sable continually tracking the direction towards the Amulet, the idea being to get off when he detected it changing heading. This meant we could conserve strength for the eventual encounter, as well as recover from the first, while also giving chase at speed. At first, I expected us to catch up quickly, but the minutes drag on, becoming hours. Still, Sable’s spell told us the Amulet was south, only momentarily appearing to change directions as the tracks wandered across Equestria.

“Could he be hiding on the train?” Offered Rarity, trying to be helpful. The lot of us took up a lot of space, taking up two whole rows of seats. Sable sat by the window, looking into the distance, his coat pooled on the bench around him.

“No, I’ve checked.” I shook my head. “He’s not on board.”

“Just who is this guy, anyway?”

“We don’t know. When he attacked me in the Crystal Empire he got me with a sneak attack, never said anything.”

“Same here, he didn’t say a word during the fight in Ponyville.”

“Maybe he’s a ghost, and can’t talk?” I doubted there was any merit to Pinkie’s suggestion. He seemed physical enough. “Oh, or he’s got no tongue. So when he talks all he can do is make nasty noises like this.” Pinkie made ugly retching noises. Rarity looked aghast at her, Fluttershy was on the verge of vomiting. That… might be possible, but I still doubted it.

“Quit that. You’re even making me sick.” Dash bopped Pinkie on the head, lightly. Pinkie stopped, her tongue still sticking out, and grinned. “But for real, you said this guy has scars all over his face? How does that happen?”

“It could be anything really.” Starlight answered first. “A magic spell gone wrong, a run in with an Ursa or another monster, even a simple accident.”

“I’m more worried about the fact he knew exactly where to find the Amulet.”

“Probably the same spell I’m using.” Sable spoke for the first time in a while, still watching his little arrow pointing to the distance. “And before anypony asks. No, I don’t remember where I found the spell.”

“Even when we catch up to this scoundrel, what are we going to do?” Rarity asked the important question. “From what little we know of him he doesn’t sound the type to be amenable to diplomacy.”

“I don’t know.” I sighed. “If he’s not wearing the Amulet the goal is to get it away from him. If he is… then I really don’t know.” Everypony quieted, considering the consequences.

“If it comes down to it, I will do it.” Sable spoke again.

“What do you mean by ‘it’?” Fluttershy’s voice wavered, she already feared the answer. I suspected I knew as well.

“If there is no other way, I must be the one to kill him.” Silence fell among us as the train clattered over the tracks. “This mess is my fault, and I will take responsibility.”

“That’s rather harsh of you to say.”

“Do you really think you could?” He accused us, turned away from the window and faced Rarity, having actually missed the point of her remark. He swept one hoof towards us all. “I don’t think any of you would bring yourselves to end the life of another pony. I know Fluttershy couldn’t.”

“I don’t think it will reach that point. Really, I don’t.” I really, really, didn’t want to think about it.

“Always the optimist.” He smiled softly, closing his eyes, and turned back towards the window.

“Why do you think this is your fault, anyway?” Sable didn’t answer Spike for several long moments, letting the tracks click and clack.

“I was the one who stole the Amulet in the first place. I brought it back into the open.”

“Then we should thank you.” Starlight nodded towards him, and he spun back to face her, utterly bewildered.

“Starlight is right. If the Amulet hadn’t been in my room today, then we wouldn’t have ever known this thief even existed. Let alone that he had the Amulet. They would have dug it up from where it was hidden, and we would be none the wiser.”

“I had not considered that.” He returned to his vigil. “Thank you.” Relief was plain in his voice. This mission was weighing him down more than I thought. No surprise considering he was considering taking the life of another pony.

“At least this way we can try and head him off before he goes bonkers.” This was from Applejack.

“Bonkers can be fun.” Pinkie giggled. “Just ask Discord.”

“Not that kind of bonkers, Pinkie.”

“Ah, phooey.” They all laughed, save Sable, Pinkie added just enough levity to keep them all from sinking into the same dark place as he seemed to be in. The hours continued to tick by, and the conversation turned away from the intruder or the consequences of the inevitable confrontation. Eventually Sable stood as the tracks turned west away from the direction they had been going for so long.

“Heads up, Ponies.” He pointed now directly out the window, off into the distance perpendicular to the train’s motion. “It’s that way.” I joined him at the window, looking for signs of the trespasser. “What’s even out there?” I pulled out my map and calculated our position.

“Nothing. It's just open land. At least there’s no pony out there to get hurt.”

“Then why go that way?” Questioned Dash.

“I have no idea. There aren’t any towns that way because it is too close to the badlands and the…” Then I looked up from the map, having realized my answer. “He’s going after the Changelings.”

* * *

_“The changelings? Really? Why?”_

_“Could he have been after revenge? The changelings were quite the threat on the border until Thorax redeemed them.”_

_“Frankly, I didn’t figure out why he really went there until right before the end.”_

_“Are we anywhere near there yet?”_

_“Getting bored, Dash?”_

_“Well, it is sort of dragging on. How much more of this is there?”_

_“We’re only about halfway through the story.”_

* * *

 We abandoned the train, leaping off before we got too far down the tracks from where Sable detected the change in direction. Rainbow Dash and I helped them down one by one and then we set off across the wilderness towards the Changeling hive once we had all collected together.

I looked around as we walked. Not that long ago this was a wasteland, but the plant life has begun to return, in time it would be vibrant again. Every now and then Sable stopped to check which direction the Amulet lay in, and it continued to lead us towards the Changeling hive. We must have been catching up; surely the thief couldn’t keep up this pace forever.

“Hey, I can see the hive!” Rainbow Dash flew above them, keeping an eye out. “I think I see smoke.”

“C’mon y’all. Let's pick up the pace!” Applejack reared and started to run. We followed, now all galloping, with Spike hanging on to my back. I watched for the smoke Dash saw, and spotted a low dark cloud not far from the base of the hive once we got closer.

“That’s not smoke.” Sable narrowed his eyes.

“What?” I looked again, and the cloud was settling lower, not rising into the air.

“It’s dust.”

“Dash, go on ahead, see what’s going on. If you see the thief, don’t try and fight him on your own!”

“Got it!” Rainbow Dash zipped ahead, trailing a rainbow as she flew. We continued our gallop, and she returned to us long before we caught up; we hadn’t reached the cloud yet. “I didn’t see our thief, but there’s a really big hole in the ground, and Thorax is there.”

“Thorax?”

“Leader of the reformed Changelings.” Starlight answered Sable’s question.

“We’re almost there. We should see if he knows anything.” The others agreed, and we entered the cloud, slowing so we didn’t stumble into the hole Rainbow dash saw. Rarity coughed. The dust choked out much of the late afternoon sun. I used my magic to blow the dust cloud out of our way, giving us clean air to breathe.

We reached the hole momentarily. A tall, primarily green, and mostly equine creature with orange antlers and red carapace stood at the edge of a gash in the ground. A few other similar, if much smaller, figures flitted and spun in the air above and around the hole.

“Hey, Thorax!” Spike called out from atop my back. The tall one turned towards us, surprised to see us coming.

“Twilight, Starlight, Spike! What are you all doing here!” The team came to a stop, Rarity and Fluttershy both sat down to catch their breath. Sable stepped up to the side of the hole to peer down into the darkness, and I could tell he was almost as tired as they were.

“I’m sorry to intrude on you like this. We’re chasing a thief who stole a dangerous artifact from Ponyville. We think they came this way.” I answered him, stepping up beside the Changeling leader to see what was down the hole. It was too dark to see beyond the mouth, the stone and earth appeared to have been melted, probably by a magic cutting beam. I conjured a floating light and let it drop into the pit. The shaft was deep, going far down until I spotted a glint of shadowy crystal and a few changelings working in the dark before my spell blipped out.

“A thief? What a coincidence. We’ve got a thief of our own.” Thorax gestured down the into the dark pit.

“What did they take? Dirt?” Dash waved her hooves around, clearly referring to the cloud of dust around us.

“What? No. We buried the Queen’s old throne down there.” Starlight seemed concerned about this.

“Why would anypony want some old chair?” Dash again.

“Chair? Chrysalis’s throne was made from a dark stone which sucked up non-changeling magic. When we overthrew her, it was destroyed, and we dumped the fragments in here where they wouldn’t be a hassle for anypony anymore.” Thorax looked down into the hole again. “We’re still trying to figure out how much was taken.”

“Interesting.” Sable stepped away from the edge, everypony joined around in a circle to discuss as Thorax went back to organizing the other Changelings. “Do you think it could be the same individual?”

“What’s the point in stealing a magic necklace, and then something which turns magic off?” Sable shrugged at Pinkie’s question. I considered, there was no apparent meaning I could find.

“I have no idea. It can’t be good news.” Glimmer continued to fidget uncomfortably.

“Could he be trying to set up another anti-magic field somewhere?” Rarity thought out loud. A small changeling emerged from the pit to deliver a message to Thorax, who nodded and turned to join the conversation.

“If that’s what the thief is up to it won’t be very large. They only got away with a single big piece.”

“What do you mean?”

“When the throne was intact the anti-magic field it generated used to cover this whole land. It’s how the hive was kept safe.”

“Let me guess.” Sable interrupted. “The throne was large, and the field created by the material grows larger the more concentrated the material is?” Thorax nodded towards him and then looked again at Sable, confused.

“I’m sorry, have we met?”

“Probably not.”

“Right. Thorax, this is Sable Stardust.” Sable nodded respectfully towards the tall changeling as I introduced him.

“Good to meet you.” Thorax nodded quickly in return. “Anyways, with that little of the dark stone, the anti-magic field wouldn’t be very large. A few body lengths across, maybe.”

“Who’s body, mine, or yours?” Pinkie grabbed Thorax’s forelimbs and pulled, stretching them both out. “Like this? Or maybe a sea serpent’s body?” Then she zips away, to the other side of the hole, leaving Throax to faceplant into the ground. “Which would be more like this!” She shouted over the hole.

“The first one.” Thorax picked himself up. “Probably.”

“Probably? That's not exactly reassuring.” Sable sighed as Pinkie bounded back over to them.

“We never measured the exact distance. All we needed to know was that it kept us safe.”

“We’re getting off topic.” I tried to return to the problem at hand. “Thorax, how long ago did this happen?”

“There was some sort of flash of light here a few hours ago, and then the dust cloud. But none of us would go near it until just a few minutes before you arrived. I’m sorry I couldn’t be more useful.” Thorax’s ears lied flat, and he dipped his head.

“The thief has clearly moved on from here.” I sighed. “Sable, can you check which way he went?” He nodded, stepping further away from the hole to avoid possible interference before casting his tracking spell again.

I could see him cast, the little magic circles around his horn glowed neon blue. But the tiny arrow just spun. He shook his head and tried again. For a second time, the little pointer which was supposed to point towards the Alicorn Amulet turned in place. He growled in annoyance, moved further away, and then breathed deep and gave it a third try. When this third attempt also returned a useless answer he sighed and returned to the group.

“Well, I think now we know why he might have come here. The throne fragment he stole is blocking my spell. I can’t track the amulet anymore.” Sable hung his head. Reading his expression, I guessed he was blaming himself for the failure.

“If you can’t find it, that means…?” Fluttershy stepped over to stand beside him.

“He gets away.” Sable was the one to say what we were all thinking.

“That's just rotten, all this way for nothing.” Applejack stomped the ground.

“Now what? We have to just give up and go home?” Dash circled in the air above us, clearly irritated. “That bites like a flyder.”

“I wouldn’t recommend that just yet.” Thorax looked towards the sun, hanging low on the horizon. “It is a long way back to Pony lands, and this area isn’t safe after dark.” I inwardly agreed as I surveyed my friends, we were all pretty tired anyway. “You are welcome to stay with us for the night, and we can escort you back in the morning.”

“Thanks for that, Thorax. Sorry to intrude on you unannounced.” Spike apologized for us. With heavy heads we all turned towards the hive, Thorax gathered his changelings and led us all back inside as the sun set.

* * *

_“Then what was the point of going after him if just gets away!”_

_“It certainly wasn’t pointless. Although it did feel like a wild goose chase for a while.”_

_“So, in the morning, we went back home?”_

_“First, there’s more to say about that night.”_

* * *

That night passed slowly, and I couldn’t seem to get any sleep. I tossed and turned in the bed provided to me by the Changelings, little more than a grassy mound with plainly woven blankets, creature comforts for non-changelings were still something of a novelty here. My discomfort was not due to the bed, which was comfortable enough, but because my mind was working endlessly. Thoughts coursed through my mind, what was the thief planning? Where did he go? Why did he want the Changeling throne? Why did the scars on his face look like Sable’s mask? How did he get the Amulet tracking spell? Unfortunately, I had no answers. At last, I could take it no more. Maybe the fresh night air would clear my mind. I leaned up, just in time to see the tip of Fluttershy’s pink tail disappear around a corner.

Where could she be going at that hour? Pinkie Pie and Rainbow dash were both snoring on one side of the room. Applejack was curled up by the wall. Rarity was under a perfectly square blanket. Spike mumbled in his sleep at the base of my bed. Moonlight illuminated Starlight Glimmer, over by the window. I didn’t see Sable anywhere; although the changelings gave him a small nook in another room. I got up and slowly tiptoed my way past my other sleeping friends.

I reached the doorway and looked around the corner in time to see Fluttershy moving down another hallway leading to the outside of the hive. I followed softly, not wanting to wake anyone sleeping nearby. As I approached the corner, I heard Fluttershy speak, but couldn’t make out the words, although I understood when a second voice joins in.

“I’m surprised to see you up.” That was Sable, staying up late again, probably just as lost in thought as I was. I stopped, for some reason not wanting to intrude on them. This might have been a good chance to see how Sable behaved with the others when I wasn’t around, sometimes I thought I had a distorted perception of his interactions with them. “You should be resting.”

“Thank you for your concern, but I’m not that fragile. If you don’t mind my asking, why are you still up yourself?”

“Thinking, mostly.”

“About the thief?”

“No, actually.” He paused, I imagined his expression as hesitant and closed my eyes to envision the two of them better. “I was thinking about my future.” This was not what I expected, and he sounded… sorrowful.

“Is there something the matter?” More silence between them. “I thought you were determined to move forward now?”

“I am. But… it’s not as easy as I made it out to be, back at the tree.” He surprised me, I didn’t think he would be that open with so little prodding.

“What do you mean?”

“It's… It is difficult to explain. When you work with your animals, can you tell me how you feel?” He paused, and I imagined Fluttershy would be searching for the right words. “Well, let me guess. Every day, when you care for the creatures around you, you feel a sense of wholeness. As if this were all you needed to be happy.”

“That would be one way to say it.”

“I don’t feel that completeness. Not when I help Rarity in her shop, not when helping Applejack with her farm, or when reading in the library, not even with you. It’s… hollow.” He would turn away now. “Everything I do feels like a chore, like something I have to get out of the way. There’s always this sense I have that I want something more, something just out of reach.” Now he would reach out as if grasping at a distant star. “It’s a weight I can’t seem to lift. Moving forward.” He scoffed. “What does that even mean, anyway?”

“I think it means to accept who you are, and then work to better yourself.”

“That would be easier if I knew who I was.”

“I know who you are.” Fluttershy giggled gently. I imagined Sable turning towards her in surprise. “You are intelligent, helpful, capable, and brave. You are willing to do whatever it takes to see something through. And you don’t give up hope, even when you lost everything. I admire that. I don’t know if I would have the strength to face a challenge like yours.” She fell silent, and it took a long time for Sable to find what he wished to say.

“Is that really what you see?” Fluttershy would be nodding now with a soft smile. “It’s all a mask.” I froze, not sure what to make of that. “I see something quite different when I look in the mirror. Every day I wake up to face a world I know I don’t fit in with. I question everything, always seeing the worst outcome, the ways it could go wrong, always uncertain. Sometimes when somepony speaks to me, I have to concentrate to avoid shaking with fear. It’s irrational, I know.” A quiet moment passed.

“You aren’t shaking now.” I risked a peek around the corner, Fluttershy had taken Sable’s arm with her own. They sat side by side, looking out into the night sky. “I know it’s hard; I know how it’s like to be uncertain. You are stronger than you know.” I retreated back around the corner, marveling at the fact of Fluttershy being the one to encourage the inner strength of another. She’s come a long way since we first met. “And if you ever feel weak, you can always talk to me, or Twilight, or any of the others. Isn’t that what you asked of us, under the willow? To help you stand tall when you fell?”

“Yes. You’re right.” More long moments of silence. “Thank you, for reminding me.” His voice was stronger now, probably giving her his most respectful bow. I nodded, pleased to hear him being so open.

“You’re welcome, Mr. Stardust.”

“Please, call me Sable.” His voice was gentle, just as when he spoke of Sereina before the accident.

“Sable. You are very welcome.” Quiet settled between them, I left the two alone, returning to bed with my mind at ease.

* * *

_“Wow Twilight, did you have to embarrass Fluttershy like that?”_

_“I am sorry, about eavesdropping on you. I didn’t think it was going to get that personal.”_

_“It sounds like I was really close to him.”_

_“I think you were just being yourself, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”_

* * *

“Good morning, Mares.” Compared to yesterday, and even last night, Sable was quite cheerful.

“Somepony’s in a good mood.” Glimmer grumbled, stretching in the morning light.

“I had a restful night.” First, he nodded towards Fluttershy, and then Sable’s eyes swiveled over to me. “I take it everypony slept well?” He winked at me. Heat rose to my face; he knew I was eavesdropping last night! None of the others seemed to have seen it. “The Changelings have generously provided breakfast for us.” Then he turned to leave, and one by one the others all followed him out.

“I hope they have pancakes!” Pinkie bounded out, already bouncing with energy.

“Twilight, are you alright?” Fluttershy hung behind. “You look a little flustered.”

“I’m fine! Fine, all fine!” I laughed nervously. “Nothings wrong! Breakfast!” In a hurry, I left the room before Fluttershy could inquire further. It took me several minutes to get my composure back, and luckily the others were more interested in their food than my embarrassment. Thorax joined us for the meal as we planned what to do next.

“So what do we do now?” Applejack was the first to bring up the subject after we had mostly finished the meal.

“I can send out some scouts to see if they can find the thief. Would that help?”

“You might as well.” Starlight sighed. “Although I doubt they will find anything if the thief has been on the move all night.”

“Even if they haven’t, we can’t track them anymore.” Rarity wiped her mouth clean. “With all the harsh terrain out here there’s plenty of space to hide.”

“Unless…” Sable backed away from the table a few steps. He concentrated, casting his tracking spell again.

“Ha, Jackpot!” Dash leaped into the air as Sable’s spell pointed resolutely in a single direction. Fluttershy and Rarity applauded.

“I guess it was worth another check.” He deadpanned.

“Quick, my map!” I jumped up into the air so that I could see the arrow from directly above. Spike hurried back into the other room and returned quickly with the map in claw. Sable obligingly held very still, so the arrow didn’t waver. He must have also realized we could lose the trace at any moment. I took the map from Spike and placed it beneath Sable’s spell, centering the arrow directly over the changeling hive. I used my own spell to locate north and adjusted the map accordingly. Thank Celestia I brought a high-quality map. I had just enough time to memorize the bearing before the arrow lost its mind and spun uncontrollably, blinking out as Sable dropped the spell. “I got it. I got it!” I landed and immediately began to trace out the route the thief could have been taking, the map still on the floor.

“How did you know that was going to work?” Questioned Thorax.

“I didn’t.” Sable shrugged.

“The thief probably doesn’t know we can track him at all, let alone that the spell could be blocked.” Starlight took over the discussion when it came to magic, I was busy, barely paying attention to them as I worked on the map.

“So he wouldn’t know to keep the Amulet close to the fragments!” Applejack finished the thought for us. Starlight and Sable both nodded.

“Yay for pure luck!” Pinkie bounced across the table, pulling a confetti popper out of her mane and setting it off, right in Sable’s face. “Whoops, sorry.” Glitter covered his face, and paper streamers hung off his horn, and he frowned towards her. I brushed the confetti off the map and brought it up to the table. Everypony crowded around to see.

“He’s gone west.” I jabbed the tip of my hoof along the path I thought the thief was taking. “Probably staying away from the train tracks to avoid being seen.”

“There are a few small towns out that direction, but nothing big.” This from Applejack. I visualized the line from the changeling hive again, there was a single town which it crossed, far out near the edge of Equestria.

“So what’s he doing out there in the middle of nowhere?” Wondered Dash.

“Maybe that’s where he lives?” Suggested Fluttershy.

“Rampant speculation will get us nowhere.” Sable stomped hard on the floor to get their attention. “We should set out immediately.”

“Sable is right.” I nodded.

“Get your stuff. We’ve got a thief to nab!” Dash was the first to zip back for her things. A glance at the others revealed them all in high spirits, especially Sable. He caught me looking and grinned confidently.

“I can’t help but think we’ve got him now. I would bet my life this ends well for us.”

* * *

_“So, why did his arrow spell work again?”_

_“I think what happened is the thief had to rest at some point and wandered outside the range of the anti-magic effect, and Sable got lucky on his timing.”_

_“That’s probably what happened, but we’ll never know for sure.”_

* * *

We thanked Thorax for his hospitality and moved out, heading after the thief. Refreshed by the rest, we made good time, and the distance melted away. Several more times we paused for Sable to attempt to track the Amulet again, but it only worked once more and revealed no useful new information. Unlike the thief, we stuck close to the train tracks to take advantage of the better terrain and roads. Over the course of the day, we passed several small towns but found hide nor hair of the thief. At last, towards the end of the day, we traveled through a pine forest to come to the distant frontier of Equestria.

“That's it! I can’t keep this up anymore!” Rarity complained loudly, the day’s efforts have drained our earlier enthusiasm. I couldn’t find it in me to disagree. “My hooves have had quite enough!”

“Seriously, how does this guy keep going?” Even Dash was irritated. “We’ve been after him for two days now, and he’s still ahead of us?”

“I have no idea what drives him on.” Sable was unhelpful at this moment.

“At least he can’t teleport, dragging that throne fragment around.” Starlight Glimmer was right, it was how he was able to escape in the first place.

“We’re almost to the next town.” Applejack tried to rouse our spirits. “If we don’t find anything here we should stop for the night anyway. At this rate, even if we do find him, we’ll be too tuckered out to face him.” The trees thinned ahead, and the group found ourselves overlooking a small town made of cute wooden buildings with tall red roofs. A sturdy sign along the roadside proclaimed it to be Pinewood village. Everypony headed in, but Sable paused by the sign, reading it over and over like a manuscript.

“Is there something wrong?” I stepped up next to him. I didn’t see anything particularly noteworthy about the sign.

“Pinewood Village.”

“Yeah?”

“Something about it… nevermind, we should keep moving.” He pulled himself away and followed the group down to the little town. The village was a quiet one, not many ponies at out at this time. A few curious ponies watched us as we passed, it must be strange to see so many newcomers arrive by the road all at once. A small number of them murmured and point at me. I faintly heard my name spoken in amazement. We wandered for a minute through the town until we found ourselves near the center, where a small statue of an unnamed Alicorn stood surrounded by an unkempt garden. The icon was old and heavily weathered, its skyward looking face heavily damaged.

“Alright, same as before, ask around to see if anypony has seen the thief, and then we meet back here in an hour or so.” Applejack immediately took control.

“There’s an inn down that way.” Sable pointed down the street; I glanced that way but didn’t see any inn from here. The others all looked to him, mildly surprised, matching his own expression.

“How do you know that?” Starlight narrowed her eyes.

“Do you have a pinkie sense too?” Pinkie, suddenly wearing a deerstalker hat and wielding a magnifying glass, eyed him suspiciously.

“I… don’t know.” Sable ignored her, now introspective.

“You told me you wandered Equestria for a while before settling in Ponyville. You must have stayed here for a while.” He cast his eyes around, seeing everything but not recognizing anything. “You all should ask about the thief, and I’ll stick with Sable and see if we can find somepony who remembers him.” They each nodded. “We’ll meet up at the inn. Unless Sable is wrong, then meet back here.” The rest of the group split up, heading down the various roads and side streets or into shops.

“Why?” Sable stood next to me, looking quite uncertain.

“I know you said you didn’t need your old past. But… I know it hasn’t been easy for you.” This was the first time we broached the subject of the conversation I overheard. “We’re here now; we might as well ask around.” He fidgeted uncomfortably but did not answer. “If nopony knows you, I won’t push it.” He nodded sharply but unenthusiastically, unwilling to meet my eyes.

Together we headed into a nearby shop, full of local woodcrafts. Sable let his gaze wander over the crafts, everything from chairs to birdhouses. The salespony, a brownish earth pony, greeted us with a wave.

“Can I help you find something?”

“Sorry, but we’re not here for woodwork.” The brown pony’s smile faded. “I know this is going to sound strange, but I don’t suppose you remember this unicorn?” I gestured to Sable, who was distinctly uncomfortable. The shopkeeper leaned over the counter, rubbing his chin. Something flashed faintly in his eyes, or was it my imagination? Then the salespony dropped back down and shook their head.

“Nope, sorry. Never seen him before in my life.” I let my head droop.

“Well, thanks anyway.” We left the woodcraft shop behind, and I paused to look around. We tried this at several more shops, each time getting much the same response. If Sable was ever here, he didn’t leave much an impression. “Any idea where we should try next?” Sable glanced around, hesitating a moment when he spotted a local saloon, but only for an instant. Taking his hesitation as a sign, I headed that way, nearly forcing Sable to follow. Calling it a hunch. The saloon was lightly populated, it was still a little early for the more substantial crowds. An older unicorn behind the bar, bluish in color with oily darker hair, cleaned a row of small glasses all at once. He nodded at us when we approached.

“Welcome, what can I get for you today, miss.”

“Sarsaparilla float, with mint ice cream.” I spun to face Sable, surprised again at a reflexive answer from him. He blinked, equally surprised.

“Haven’t heard a request for that in a long time.” The blue unicorn laughed. “Anything for the Mare?” I shook my head, still watching Sable. He headed away to get the drink, going to a back room to find the ice cream.

“Sable?”

“Just… I don’t know.” The barpony returned with a tall glass of the drink, with two straws, and set it down between us. Sable drops the payment bits on the counter for him.

“You know the strange thing? I feel like I’ve served this up to another purple unicorn before.” He eyed Sable closely. I, in turn, watched the barpony with interest. Something flashed in the other unicorn’s eyes, a tiny blue spark. He shook his head. “Ah, nevermind. Just déjà vu I guess. Enjoy your drink.”

“Have you noticed anything strange about the ponies here?” I looked around the room; the few ponies here didn’t bother giving us more than an initial curious glance before going back to their own business. Sable started on his drink, shaking his head.

“No, but I haven’t been watching them. This place is…”

“Familiar somehow?” He nodded, returning to his drink, slurping it up using both straws. Inspiration flashed through my mind, and I headed back over to the barpony. “Excuse me. You wouldn’t happen to know a pegasus named Sereina would you?”

“Not a name I know.” He shook his head. “looking for somepony?”

“It's complicated. Thanks anyways.” I waved to him and turned back to find Sable massaging his head, grimacing. “Are you alright?”

“Brain freeze.” He pushed the now empty glass away from the edge of the bar. “My own stupid fault.” Without saying another word, we headed out through the swinging saloon doors and out onto the street. “It’s getting late; we should meet up with the others.” He sighed, defeated or relieved I couldn’t really tell. We turned down the street he claimed there was an inn on.

“It was a long shot anyway. It may have been many years since you were here. Maybe the others are having more luck.” He nodded, eyes downcast. We passed an alleyway, and he slowed, then stopped. Slowly he returned and looked down the gap between two buildings. I followed, curious. The alley itself was uninteresting, but in the distance, invisible from the main road, was a hill with a white triangular building atop it.

“That's… it couldn’t be.” Sable galloped off, and I had to hurry to catch up. He cut through the town with ease, down alleys and side streets like the map of the city were burned into his mind. Within moments we left the village behind, approaching the strange building on the hill, from here I could see the building had a dome at the top of the triangle, it reminded me of an observatory.

“Sable!” If he heard me, he gave no sign, galloping hard for the base of the hill. I hoped I was wrong, the sight of the little house buried in mud from Sable’s illusion seared into my memory. As we approached the little valley, which I could see now that we were past most of the trees, he slowed to a stop. He was visibly quivering, his wings chiming, I placed a hoof on his shoulder. “Are you sure you want to do this?” He nodded, once, sharply. Despite this, he still took several deep breaths. Side by side we walked until we passed the hill.

A little two-story cottage, idyllically comfortable and whole, sat in the valley surrounded by pine trees. The walls were painted sky blue, and the window frames a soft yellow, flowers grew in neat rows along the walkway to the door behind a small white picket fence. Light smoke rose from the chimney. I could see movement through one of the windows. It was a perfect replica of the home from Sable’s illusion. How could it have been intact? I supposed it could have been rebuilt, but so precisely to the one Sable saw destroyed?

“Its… not possible.” He faltered, shaking again. Still, he moved forward, passing through a small gate in the white picket fence. We stood before the door; the knocker was star-shaped, the handle stylized like an unfurling bolt of cloth. Sable reached up to knock, his hoof shaking nearly violently. He hesitated, faltered, unable to put hoof to wood.

I put my own hoof on his, and he looked at me. I had never read fear on his face before, not real fear, yet I did now. I threw a wing over his back, his legs nearly gave out. We stood like that for a long silent moment, until at last he gathered enough courage to hold his full height again and I released him. Then, at last, he took one final deep breath and knocked four times on the door. I heard a voice from within.

“Just a minute!” Hoofsteps approach the door. It opened to reveal a light blue earth pony with a sandy blond mane tied up in a bun. The mare inside gasped, eyes on the purple pony in front of her, recognition in her eyes. “My goodness! Dear, come see this!”

“Who is there, lovely?” A male voice, followed by a dark grey unicorn with a short white shock of a mane, he was a bit taller than the mare. His jaw nearly dropped open when he saw us.

“It's Princess Twilight Sparkle!” The voice of the blue pony was full of excitement.

“Your majesty! You honor us!” Both of them bowed profoundly and respectfully towards me. Neither one paid any mind to the pony next to me. Sable Stardust, their son.


	6. Impossible Past

_“Wait, wait, wait. I thought his parents were dead?!”_

_“Yeah, you told us his story. His family died when their house collapsed on them.”_

_“This makes no sense. It shouldn’t be possible, not if what you told us was true.”_

_“Calm down. I’ve still got more to say. It all gets explained.”_

* * *

“What can we do for you, your highness?” Sable’s mother beamed at me, obviously pleased to see the Princess of Friendship at her door.

“Please, come in!” Sable’s father stepped aside, gesturing to the interior of the little cottage. I looked inside, from where I stood I could see the loom in the corner and the row of pictures of celestial objects on the wall. I didn’t know what I had expected, but it wasn’t this, and my words failed me. I glanced at Sable, as his parents looked nervously at each other. He was dumbstruck, shocked to stillness, ears flat. I had to say something.

“Yes, I am Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship. I was wondering if you would answer a few questions for me?” I hoped I didn’t sound too uncertain.

“Of course, we are happy to help in any way we can.” Sable’s mother bowed again. “Would you like some tea?”

“No, that's alright.” I glanced at Sable again; he wasn’t doing any better. “Would you mind introducing yourselves first?”

“How silly of me, I do apologize. My name is Softwear. My husband here is Earl Grey.” The unicorn put an arm around his wife’s and nodded deeply. Sable backed away, tenser than I had ever seen him. Only now did the two ponies look towards him, a blue light shining from their eyes for a brief moment.

“Oh, I didn’t see you there. And who might you be?”

“Impossible.” He whispered to himself, shaking his head. “It’s… not possible.” He stumbled backward.

“Careful there, are you alright?” The grey unicorn reached out to stabilize Sable. The unicorn in the black coat recoiled at his father’s touch, wings fluttering unevenly. What courage he had reclaimed failed him, and he turned and bolted away. “Your friend is a little shy, isn’t he?”

“Sable, wait!” I called after him, but he didn’t stop, and he fled up the hill towards the observatory. I turned back to face the other two ponies. They seemed concerned, but not overly so. “You don’t recognize him?”

“No, I don’t think we’ve met before.”

“The name Sable Stardust means nothing to you?”

“Sable Stardust? Why does that…” Sable’s parents glanced at each other with worry, their eyes momentarily flashed with neon blue energy. Both of them grimaced briefly, before shaking their heads to clear them and looking back at me with neutral expressions. “I’m sorry, do you need help finding somepony?”

“No, thank you. I apologize for intruding on your time.” I nodded towards them and jumped into the air, leaving the two below to stare up at her in amazement. My flight took me over the observatory as I watched the ground for Sable, I saw the observatory door for the telescope was closed. I searched for him, looking for a black coated unicorn among the trees towards the town. But he wasn’t there, and I winged back towards the triangular structure. Only then did I spot him. He hadn’t gone far, stopping just at the top of the hill, behind the Observatory from his parent’s cottage where I couldn’t see him before. “Sable! Are you alright?” It was clear he was not, even as I landed nearby I could see him shaking. Confusion and fear written plainly on his face, eyes wide, ears flat. Glass wings clattered against each other. He was in shock, and he couldn’t even stand, his coat was splayed out on the ground around him.

“Not possible… It's not possible…” He recited it like a mantra, over and over. I’d never seen him like this, nearly catatonic.

“I’ve got you.” Gently I wrapped my arms around him, draping my wings over him like a blanket. “Shh, it's alright.” He remained unresponsive. I didn’t know what to do, what could anypony do? So I merely held him, trying just to be a soothing comfort. I don’t know how long I stayed with him like that, but that's how the others found us.

“Twilight!” A voice called my name, and I looked up to see Rainbow Dash flying in long arcs above us. “There you are!” Dust rose when Dash skidded to a halt nearby. “Woah, whats wrong with him?” Very blunt, she wasn’t gentle at all. When Dash approached the air filled with static charge and energy crackled around Sable, a barrier flashing around us. Dash shouted in pain, snatching back her hoof, singed. “What gives with that?”

“He’s…” What could I call it? “He’s confused, hurt. I don’t know what to do!” My own voice tinged with panic.

“I’ll get the others. Don’t go anywhere.” As if I could. Rainbow Dash lived up to her name, color trailing behind her as she disappeared back towards Pinewood Village.

“Don’t worry, Sable. The other’s are on the way.” If he could hear me, he didn’t respond. He just kept quaking. It wasn’t terribly long before I heard more hoofbeats, and voices calling my name. Dash hovered over the observatory, pointing down at us. Moments later the rest of the group galloped up to us. Static built in the air around us. “Stay back! He’s not himself!”

“Twilight, Sable, what happened?” Starlight approached anyways. Magic flared, neon blue, an arc of energy lanced out towards the other unicorn, scaring the ground before her. Everypony backed away at the display.

“It’s difficult to explain.” I didn’t know where to start and kept my voice low. “We found Sable’s family.” Sable and I still hadn’t told them his story.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Pinkie Pie piped up. Sable twitched at her voice, weakly kicking. I looked at the devastated pony in my arms, my promise to him still rung in my mind. But they needed to know, now more than ever.

“He thought they were dead!” Everypony gasped. “He’s gone into shock. I think he’s just working off instinct now. I don’t know what to do!”

“You’re doing the right thing.” Fluttershy spoke softly. Sable’s eyes twitched towards her, just briefly. “Just keep him warm and comfortable.” Something nearly imperceptible in Sable shifted. I realized Fluttershy’s voice seemed to calm him.

“Keep talking to him, Fluttershy, I think it’s helping.”

“What do I say?”

“I don’t know, something, anything.” Fluttershy bit her lip, looking away. It took a moment longer before she finally spoke, urged on by Applejack and Rarity.

“Mr. Stardust?” Softly. “Sable?” Gently. “Can you hear me?” She stepped closer, static built as she drew near. “It's me, Fluttershy. I want you to listen to the sound of my voice.” Magic glowed, and the pegasus paused. “I’m here to help if you’ll let me.” Gingerly she took another step closer. The magic continued to glow, but Sable did not strike out at her. “I know it hurts. I know you’re confused.” Another step closer, the glow began to fade. “Remember what we talked about, I know you can come back to us.” His neon blue aura faded entirely, and Fluttershy slowly stepped up beside us. “Just breathe.” Then the pegasus knelt beside him, placing a soft hoof on Sable’s side. He twitched, kicking weakly again. “Shh, you can rest now.” In my arms, I felt his shaking start to still; his wings stopped clattering. “I’ll be right here.”

Whatever instinctual strength possessing him faded, and he fell limp in my arms, I could still feel his heart beating like a racehorse. Slowly I released him, letting Fluttershy take him from me. His breaths continued to come in shallow gasps, but he rested. I mouthed the words ‘thank you’ to Fluttershy, who nodded in return. Quietly I stood, releasing my tension, and backed away from them.

“OK, OK. Everything is calm now.” I had to stop my own shaking.

“Twilight, what is going on!” Rainbow Dash was demanding but kept her voice down.

“It’s a long story. I don’t know what to make of it anymore. Did he lie to me?” Something in my voice still disturbed them.

“You need to calm down and explain.” Glimmer put her hoof on my shoulder. I took a deep breath and held it, feeling my own heart beating a drum in my ears. Exhale, and then calm.

“Alright. Before the accident, Sable told me his story.” How best to summarize that? “He grew up with very few friends, tormented by bullies because of his blank flank.” I considered how to proceed. “Eventually almost all his friends abandoned him. Do you remember the name he gave us when I gave him his silver mask back?”

“Serenity?”

“Sereina? Wasn’t it?” Rarity was the correct one. I nodded.

“She was the only one who didn’t abandon him, and I think he was in love with her.” Then I walked around the side of the Observatory, pointing to the cottage in the valley. “This was his home. According to what he told me there was a bad storm here, and he couldn’t save his family, or Sereina, as the house collapsed on top of them. He told me they died here that night.”

“I think I get it now.” Applejack took off her hat, in respect for the dead.

“But, you just said you found them? Right?” I nodded, confirming Dash’s question.

“And it wasn’t their tombstone or anything?”

“No, his parents are fine. We haven’t found Sereina yet.”

“So, he lied to you when he told you the story?” Rarity couldn’t seem to decide if she was appalled or worried. “I didn’t think him the type. What was the point?”

“To get our sympathy, obviously.” Glimmer sounded suspicious of his motives. “So he could get her away from the table.”

“I don’t think so. You weren’t there for the story before the accident. He almost broke down in tears. I think he really did believe they were dead.” I remembered the reactions of Sable’s parents to his presence. “It gets stranger. His parents didn’t recognize him.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, they didn’t even know his name, and when I told it to them, they asked who that was.”

“They didn’t even remember their own son?” Rarity continued to sound either worried or appalled.

“The townsponies didn’t know him either.”

“None of them?” I again confirmed Dash’s question with a nod.

“Wow, I know he likes to keep a low profile, but invisible? That's a neat trick.” Pinkie was clearly impressed, confused, but impressed.

“I don’t understand it; this was his hometown. Even if he was never outgoing, a pony growing up without a cutie-mark and losing their whole family all at once, that's not something you just don’t notice in a town this size.”

“I think I figured it out.” Starlight spoke. “Why his spell failed, back at the map.” We all turned to face her. “He stole my time travel spell and tried to go back to the moment his family died, right?” I nodded again, that was my theory as well. “It didn’t work because it _couldn’t_ work. His family never died in the first place. Even the most epic magic can’t send you to a point in time which never happened.”

“And the resulting backlash nearly wiped his memory clean.” It fit the facts, as near as I could tell.

“But what about everypony here? Could that spell remove him from their memory too?” Spike was the one to spot the flaw in our theory. If it could have done that, it would have removed him from our memories as well.

“I don’t know; it shouldn’t have. Although, he was wearing the Alicorn Amulet at the time. I frankly have no idea what a spell backlash that powerful could do under its influence.”

“Oh, right, the Amulet!” Dash facehoofed. “I completely forgot! A lumberpony in town told me they saw a dark unicorn dragging some big black rock earlier today, not even an hour ago. He said they had scars all over their face and snarled at him when he offered to help.”

“The thief! We have to go after him! Did they say which way they were going?” Dash didn’t have a chance to answer before I had already pulled out the map.

“Northwest. He said he was northwest of here when he saw them.” I reoriented myself towards north and examined the map.

“There’s nothing out there, just some hills, a lake, more hills, and the coast.”

“Doesn’t matter, we have to go after him.” Applejack was right, a quick glance at the others told me they each agreed.

“Fluttershy.” I turned to face my friend, still supporting the broken unicorn, gently brushing his mane. “Can you watch over Sable for us? We think we know where the thief is going.”

“Um…” the pegasus looked down at her charge, uncertainty clear in her expression. “I don’t think I can stay out here with him, alone.” I looked up; it was going to start getting dark soon.

“I’ll stay.” Spike offered first, stepping over to join Fluttershy. Then Rarity stepped forward as well.

“I’ll remain as well. I’m not as much of a fighter as the rest of you. We’ll take good care of Sable. Go get him.” I nodded and looked at each of the others. It was easy to read the determination on their faces, and even Pinkie Pie was serious now. “When you find him, give him a kick in the head for Sable’s sake, will you?”

* * *

_“Yikes, that hit him like a train.”_

_“Of course it wrecked him. The memory of his family’s death was a central point to his life, and he just learned it was a lie. How do you think you would handle_

_something like that?”_

_“Not well.”_

_“It was a good thing Fluttershy was there to help. Thank you.”_

_“You’re welcome.”_

* * *

We picked up on the thief pretty quickly, the trail he left was pretty apparent once we got close. The throne fragment the thief was dragging carved a deep gash in the dirt. We tracked it towards the lake on my map; he couldn’t be far ahead now. The sun, low in the west, shimmered off the lake as we drew near, the golden light filtering through the trees.

“I saw him!” Dash zipped back; she was scouting ahead. “He’s just ahead, on the edge of the lake.”

“Applejack, Dash, Pinkie. I want you to stay as far from him as you can, out of sight in you can.” I immediately started planning ahead.

“He’s got some dangerous magic, and he’s willing to use it. Distance is your only defense against him.”

“Starlight and I will go first; if he doesn’t know you’re there, you can take him by surprise if you get the chance. Remember, the priority is getting the Alicorn Amulet away from him, even if he gets away that’s still a win.”

“Can do!” Pinkie smeared her face with leaves and mud; it did nothing to disguise her. Dash saluted and darted up into the treetops, Applejack and Pinkie galloped off into the forest.

“Ready for this?” Starlight takes several deep breaths. I felt my pulse rising. As one we darted out into the open, looking along the shore for the unicorn of blackened charcoal. I spotted him quickly; he was dragging a large oblong and jagged black crystal behind him. Hoofs pounded the dirt, and the thief looked back. “Stop!” It didn’t look like he was wearing the Alicorn Amulet, thank Celestia, it must have been in the saddlebag over his shoulder. He looked down with a scowl at the stone he was dragging, there was no way he could escape with its weight holding him back. It was clear he knew that, and he dropped into a fighting stance, horn down and legs wide, the rope he was carrying fell to the ground. No magic sprang from his horn, he was too close to the throne fragment to use magic.

“Surrender the Amulet!” Starlight demanded it as we slowed to a stop, hopefully far enough away that we weren’t within the anti-magic field generated by the fragment.

“Not a chance.” His voice was low, and I saw his eyes flicking from one pony to the other. “Turn away, now.”

“What do you want it for? It will corrupt you, drive you insane if you use it!”

“I know what it does.” I had the strange sensation I’d heard him say that before. He started to back away, gaining distance from the throne shard. Starlight cast a simple light spell, sending it forward until it disappeared only a few meters from the stone. I noted where it vanished, tracing the circle in my mind where spells would function. The Thief’s ember red eyes narrowed, he must have been doing the same.

“Don’t make us hurt you.”

“Go ahead then, try it.” The thief took another step back, just out of the anti-magic ring, and a wall of fire erupted around us, hemming us in towards the stone. Starlight erected a barrier behind us, keeping the blaze clear, we only had a few inches of clearance before we reached the edge of the anti-magic field. I leaped into the air, snapping my wings wide, firing a beam of my magic towards the thief. He jumped back, the laser charred the ground where he had been standing. He returned the favor, repeated glowing orbs of light exploded in front of me, blinding me. I ascended higher, blinking against the afterimages.

I heard Starlight exchange magical blasts with the thief, and then the crackling of crystal forming. The spellfire ceased, I darted out over the lake in time to feel the heat of a lance of fire pass just below. I couldn’t fight back still blinded and flew in erratic circles and patterns, more lances of heat passed nearby. Blinking again cleared enough afterimages that I could see what happened. Starlight was trapped within another crystal prison; she hadn’t had time to escape the firewall, which had died out. The thief was on the shore, still firing at me. I spotted something blue in the trees behind the thief, Rainbow Dash.

I predicted what she was planning and fired weak but fast attacks on the thief. His attention was so focused on me that he didn’t see when Dash rushed towards the crystal, pushing it towards the throne fragment. In a moment Starlight would be free.

I stopped evading, placing a barrier around myself. The thief concentrated, firing a bright blast directly at me. I braced, and it flared against my shield. He poured more power into the beam, but the barrier held. The crystal dissolved, disrupted by the throne fragment, and Starlight was free. Dash fled back into the treeline, where the thief couldn’t see her, smart. Starlight shook her head, clearing it, while I continued to hold the thief’s attention.

Starlight backed away and started to cast her crystal prison spell, an easy win if it worked. It did not, the thief simply turned his beam towards her, cutting a line of fire across the lake. I panicked, teleporting with my shield in front of Starlight and shaking her concentration. I needn’t have bothered; the lance fizzled out when it reached the anti-magic field. The fire continued regardless, why was he wasting all that power?

I got my answer when the thief slammed the beam down, striking the ground just below the edge of the field. The throne fragment didn’t block physics. The resulting explosion flung dust and stone into my face, knocking me back into Starlight and both of us to the ground as my shield fizzled out. I tried to reform it, but nothing happened. I blinked the dust out of my eyes to find the throne fragment standing nearly upright, directly in front of us. Frantically I tried to get back to my feet and back away, but the thief erected a new barrier dome, just a tiny bit larger than the anti-magic bubble. We were trapped within the fragment’s field, unable to fight back.

“That's better.” The thief stepped closer to the barrier. “Now, I still need that.” He gestured to the throne fragment. “So I’m going to have to ask you to surrender.” For the moment we were safe, and I saw a chance to get some answers, while simultaneously spotting Applejack in the trees getting ready to fight.

“What are you planning? Why do you need the Alicorn Amulet?” Hopefully, Applejack wasn’t going to attack too soon.

“Really, that's the best you can come up with? Is this the part where you expect me to tell you my grand plan?” He snorted derisively. “I’m not that stupid. I’ve read this story before.” He banged one hoof on the shield. “I’ve sacrificed everything for this chance!” Déjà vu again. “I’m not going to waste it all just to satisfy your curiosity. Somehow you might still be able to get out.” Out the corner of my vision, I spotted Pinkie and Dash conversing with Applejack in the treeline, out of the thief’s view, I tried very hard to not look directly at them.

“So now what? You’re going to have to drop that shield eventually If you want to get this back.” Starlight moved to the other side of the throne fragment, thinking when the bubble dropped we could both dart out, so he couldn’t stop us both.

“True enough. But then again, you need to breathe eventually, don’t you?” He settled down, staring at us venomously. “I can wait.” The other three ponies stayed low, mostly out of sight, probably trying to come up with a plan.

“Why don’t you talk to us? Tell us why you want to do this.” I quickly calculated the volume of air inside the bubble, we had a few hours at least before that would become a concern.

“Twilight, what are you doing?” I shook my head towards Starlight, trying to point to the trees where the others were hiding with my eyes. Starlight got the message, it was a stall.

“You wouldn’t understand. You can’t understand.” Why did that sound so familiar?

“Then why not tell us, help us understand?”

“Oh, you want my sob story?” He rolled his eyes. “Oh, if only we could reform him.” A high, mocking tone. “Befriend him, and everything will turn out for the better!” He snorted and dropped his voice back to his previous low solid tone. “Let’s just say being special isn’t always a good thing and leave it at that, shall we?” He stood, pacing in front of the shield, but fortunately kept his eyes focused solely on the two of us. Now I could see his cutie-mark. It was hard to make out, covered in scars much like his face. It seemed to be a black circle, surrounded by a ring of rising fire. It sort of reminded me of a solar eclipse.

“It can’t have been all that bad. I have a friend who suffered something similar, and he’s doing alright.”

“Are you sure about that? Ask him then, what happened to his family.”

“You know Sable Stardust?” I had not expected that. He stopped pacing, standing right outside the shield relative to me. He was almost exactly the same height as me.

“Yes, I know him.” He laughed, hollow and false. “I know him better than you ever will, better than anypony ever could. I know what drove him to despair, and I know what that despair did to him, what it’s still doing to him.” He chuckled at this, mirthless. “In the end, his own despair will kill him.”

“You’re wrong! He’s stronger that!” He laughed at me again, mocking and hateful. “He’s getting better.” Even to me, it sounded hollow. After today’s display, I wasn’t so sure anymore.

“Such fire!” His eyes flared, did I just see his scars glow? “So certain are you? I would pity you if I cared. But if it keeps you talking, and wasting what little air you’ve got left, I’ll let in on a little secret.” He turned away, towards the lake, eying me over his shoulder. “I know what happened to his family.”

“What? Tell me!”

“No, no. Not that easily.” He rolled his eyes again, now looking out over the water. “I’m going to make you guess. So ask yourself, what did he do that surprised you most?”

“What? I don’t understand.”

“Come on; you’re smarter than that.” He sighed, annoyed. “Aloud, princess.” I saw no reason to fall into that trap. But still, what did he mean?

“He…” What has Sable done that surprised me the most? The attempt on the friendship map came to mind, but this thief couldn’t possibly know about that. There was the moment when he vowed to walk forward into the future without fear, but I knew it isn’t going as well as he thought. The time when the map called them? “I don’t know.”

“You give up? How sad, and here I thought you never gave up. Fine, have another hint.” He turned back to face me, tapping the side of his head. Silence, punctuated only by the wind through the trees and the setting sun on the lake glinting into my eyes. Then he growled and pointed to Starlight. “What about, to her?” I looked at Glimmer, who had been watching the exchange silently. “What? Did he do? To her?” And then I understood.

“Memory magic?”

“There it is.” He smiled cruelly and approached the shield bubble. “Get it now?” A twig snapped, he glanced at the trees, his grin vanished. “Clever vixen.”

That’s when the rock hit him, hard, in the side of the head. Applejack kicked another stone at him from the treeline as Dash charged him from above. He shouted in pain, stumbling backward. The shield faltered, Starlight and I both rushed it, slamming ourselves against the weakened barrier. It held us back, barely, and I felt it starting to give way.

Rainbow Dash slammed into him, carrying him out over the water. The barrier bubble failed entirely, and we were free. Dash screamed as lightning exploded over the lake and the pegasus started to fall, the thief had vanished. I took to the air, grabbing Dash before she could hit the water. She was stunned but still breathing. Thunder cracked behind back on the shore, I looked back to see Applejack hauled into the air via his magic and flung out over the lake. I grabbed her too, taking them both a ways down the shore and setting them down. Spells clashed back at the fragment, where the thief attacked Starlight.

“Thanks for the save.” Applejack tipped her hat quickly. “Is Dash alright?” The blue pegasus could barely open her eyes or stand on her own.

“She will be, but she’s out of the fight for now. Where’s Pinkie?”

“Waiting for her chance. Didn’t want him to see us all at once in case things didn’t work out. No more time to talk, let's go!” The Orange Earth pony charged down the shoreline towards the fight, and I teleported myself there. Starlight darted from side to side, getting as far from the throne fragment as she could, not wanting to get pinned in again. I flanked the thief, firing from the opposite direction as Starlight.

I gave him this; he was quick and agile, hard to pin down. Magic flashed and crashed, fire flared, and lightning boomed as we traded spells and volleys. Whenever he tried to teleport to a better position, I would get around him again. At last, there was a lull in the fighting; it was clear we had the upper hand over him. He couldn’t get out from between us, and I could see him breathing hard, he couldn’t keep this up for much longer.

“Surrender! If you give up the Amulet, we won’t have to hurt you!” He glared at me, continually moving along the rocky shore so we wouldn’t pin him. He glanced back at his saddlebag, face pensive and worried, he must have been considering using the Amulet. It must have been that he was afraid of the corrupting influence even considering the boost in power it would have granted him. That must be the only reason he hadn’t used it yet.

Movement over at the throne fragment drew my attention. Applejack was there, readying to deliver a mighty buck to it. The thief saw this too, and his mind was made up.

Everything happened at once. The thief reached into his pack, drawing the silver and red amulet from within. It was clear he was going to put it on now. Applejack’s kick landed, and the fragment spun through the air towards him. I fired a beam, matched by Starlight.

“Shoryuken!” Pinkie appeared from underneath a large rock, directly beneath the thief. No one got a chance to react as Pinkie uppercut the thief hard under the chin and forced them both off the ground. Starlight’s and my beams collided where the thief had been, right under the two ponies. Magic exploded, sending Pinkie and the thief flying apart.

The throne fragment spun through the space where they had been; I heard something like the sound of crystal cracking. Just before its flight took it out of my view the sun glinted off the red gem of the Amulet, now embedded in the dark stone. The changeling throne shard skipped off the water twice before vanishing beneath the surface of the lake in a tremendous splash somewhere out towards the middle.

“Woo! I’m OK!” Pinkie had landed on the beach, upside down.

“No, no!” The thief reappeared with a lightning crack, not far away. “Where is it, where is it?!” He spun and turned; searching blindly for the Amulet. Eyes flared with rage as he spun towards us when we approached. “To Tartarus with you all! I will see Equestria face despair!” Lightning cracked, more violent than before, and he disappeared. I heard him reappear somewhere nearby, out in the forest. I tried to pursue, teleporting in the direction he had gone where I thought I saw a flash of light. But he was nowhere to be seen. Thunder crashed, further away, and I knew he got away again.

* * *

_“Way to go, Pinkie!”_

  _“Phew, I was holding my breath there for a minute.”_

_“That’s three times now I’ve ended up in those crystals! How does this keep happening to me?”_

_“If it makes you feel any better, that didn’t happen again.”_

_“…It’s because something worse happened, isn’t it?”_

* * *

Dim light from the moon above glinted off the scales of a fish that passed before me. The fish followed me for a moment, lured by the glowing orb at the tip of my horn. Sand at the bottom of the lake shifted as I sifted through it. I'd been down here for the better part of an hour, breathing via a bubble of air brought from the surface. Several times so far I had to disentangle myself from underwater plants, and the search had gone poorly. At last, I conceded the fragment of the changeling throne was lost, and the amulet with it. With a pop my air bubble vanished when I broke the surface, my ears followed suit with the change in pressure.

“Did you find it?” Applejack stood atop a rock nearby, waiting for me. Pinkie Pie, scraped up but not seriously injured, waited for us to return over by the treeline. Rainbow Dash had gone back to the village to let the others know how the encounter ended.

“No.” I shook my head and climbed out of the water, flicking my wings dry. “It’s down there, I’m sure. But I can’t find it.” Another pony broke through the lake’s surface; Starlight Glimmer was searching as well. “Please tell me you’re having more luck than I am.” The other unicorn shook her head as she dragged herself out of the lake.

“Only if you’re looking for dirt and sand.”

“Let me try something.” I had seen Sable cast his tracking spell repeatedly over the last few days, and I thought I’d figured it out. Those same magic circles appeared around my horn, with the arrow at the tip spinning in random directions. Either I was casting the spell wrong, or the amulet was within the anti-magic field of the throne fragment. The latter was more likely if I saw it right. With an annoyed sigh, I dropped the spell, looking down at my moonlit reflection on the lake.

“Sugarcube, it’s time to pack it in.” Applejack stepped up beside me.

“She’s right. We aren’t going to find it tonight anyway, that's for sure.” Starlight yawned. “Besides, we’ve been up and running all day, I’ve had enough.”

“What if he comes back?”

“Then he won’t will not find it neither.” Pinkie wandered over, a little unsteady. “Uh, did that make sense?” In context, it was clear what she meant.

“Besides, the Amulet is far out of reach now. There’s no way to find it, and the throne is buried somewhere under the lake. It’s as safe here as it’s ever been. Safer even.” Glimmer was probably right.

“I don’t think he’ll come back anytime soon; we gave him one heck of a beating.” Applejack turned back towards Pinewood Village and started off. I bit my lip, still worried.

“Come on Twilight. There’s nothing more we can do tonight. Things will be better in the morning.”

“Or at least the light will be.” Pinkie giggled, I didn’t see what was funny. “I also want to see how the others are doing with Sable.” That had almost slipped my mind. It took quite a bit longer to walk back to town than to get out here in the first place, everypony was exhausted and weary, the darkness didn’t help. Applejack led us back to the inn, right where Sable said it was, it was now late enough there were no more local ponies out in the street. Spike waved to us when we drew near, waiting out front. We found Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy in an upstairs room, with Sable lying in one of the four beds.

“How is he?” Sable’s eyes swerved towards us as we entered the room, but he said nothing.

“Calm, for the moment.” Fluttershy was sitting beside him. “We’re you able to find the Alicorn Amulet?” I shook my head, letting my gaze drop to the floor.

“What about the thief?” Rarity wondered. “Did you catch his trail?”

“No luck there either. Vanished into the night.” Starlight answered for me as we all filtered into the room.

“Then this was all pointless?” Dash was clearly disheartened.

“Hardly, we got the Amulet away from the thief, and it’s where it can’t be found. That's no waste.”

“And we found Sable’s hometown and Family.” Sable jerked his head up, snarling at Pinkie Pie. “Uh, sorry?” He stood weakly and made to leave.

“Sable, wait.” At first, he ignored me. Then I blocked his path with an extended wing. “There’s more I need to talk to you about.” He glared at me, obviously in no mood to talk. “The thief, he said some things I want your insight on.” He lifted his head until he could stare down at her, both curious and still quite upset. “Some of it concerns you directly.” It was easy to see the tension build in him, and his wings creaked and ground. “Actually, I think most of it does.”

“In private.” His voice was cracked and dry.

“Hey!” Dash shouted. “That’s not fair!” In return, Sable fixed his neon blue eyes scornfully on her. A quick survey revealed the others all agreed with the blue pegasus. Some of them voiced a similar sentiment.

“Sable.” Fluttershy spoke calmly when the uproar ended. “Rainbow Dash is right; we’re involved in this now.” Everypony quieted. “We need to know. Please don’t push us away again.” At first, I thought he was going to push past me, but this last word broke him. He wiped away the tears before he lost control, and nodded slowly. Before I started, I waited until Sable returned to his spot on the bed, still listening but not facing me.

I sat down on one of the open beds, folding my legs under myself. It took only a few minutes to tell them the conversation I had with the thief and the claims he made while I was trapped under his barrier. The only thing I left out was my internal doubts regarding Sable’s recovery.

“The last thing he said was that he swore he would make Equestria face despair, and then teleported away.”

“I doubt this is over. We’ll meet him again.” Exasperation in Starlight’s voice as she rubbed her temples.

“He certainly didn’t think much of you, did he?” Applejack directed this towards Sable. He stared down at his hooves, unresponsive.

“Sable, I know sometimes you find things familiar even when you don’t remember them. Do you feel anything like that about this thief?” He shook his head at my question.

“No. Nothing. As far as I know, our first meeting was when he stormed the castle.”

“What do you think he meant about doing something to Sable’s family?” Dash’s wings twitched. “Could he have wiped him out of their memory?” At this Sable froze, there was no way he hadn’t already considered the same thing. It was different to hear it out loud.

“Why would anypony do that? That’s horrible and evil.” I had to agree with Pinkie. Sable cringed again.

“Maybe he was jealous?” At Fluttershy’s suggestion, Sable’s only response was to laugh once, loudly and not kindly. It was pretty easy to guess his thoughts, although he didn’t share them.

“Well, we do know he has that kind of magic available to him. When he attacked me in the Crystal Empire, he stole something out of my mind. It wouldn’t be much harder to destroy memory instead of just taking it.”

“And what about Sable’s memory? The story he gave me is entirely different.” Sable met my eyes. “Are we going to assume he manipulated your mind too?”

“This is pointless.” Sable interjected, somewhat angrily. “I’m going to bed. If you want to speculate, do it quietly or better yet, somewhere else.” With that, he yanked the blanket over his head and defiantly flipped around, so he faced the wall. The topic was apparently more than he was willing to deal with.

“We really should get some sleep.” Rarity yawned. “Things won’t be any worse in the morning.” Sable derisively snorted as if to say it could always get worse.

* * *

_“There’s that temper again.”_

_“This time I think he’s earned some leeway with that. It was a pretty stressful day.”_

_“So, did it get worse?”_

_“The short version? Yes.”_

* * *

The morning brought with it heavy rain. None of us got a good night’s sleep, the few small beds were crowded by multiple ponies each. I had half expected Sable to vanish during the night, to brood alone somewhere as he so often did, but he remained motionless the whole night.

“So much for that plan.” We stood outside, underneath the inn’s awning to keep out of the rain. “I was hoping to have better light to look for the throne fragment again.” I looked at the others, all still a bit weary. In particular Sable seemed to have not slept at all. He didn’t say a word and barely ate at breakfast.

“Can we go home then?” Rainbow Dash’s thought had its appeal, it’s been days since we left, and everpony had things they needed to take care of. But still, there was something I wanted to do here.

“I won’t stop you if you want to leave. But I’m going to stay here for a while longer. I want to see if I can figure out what happened to Sable’s parent’s memories. Maybe find Sereina if she still lives here.”

“We can ask if anypony who lives here remembers the thief. It’s our only lead at this point.” Rarity made a good point, the thief had implied he might have lived here at one point.

“I wish we had gotten his name at least. I’m getting tired of calling him ‘the thief.’” I found myself agreeing with Applejack on this.

“Despair.” At last, Sable spoke again. “Call him Despair then.”

“Ooh, Ominous.” Pinkie somehow managed to still sound upbeat. “Why that?”

“He said he would make Equestria face despair, and we will probably have to face him again.” He shrugged but didn’t raise his head. The way he held himself those first few days after I first met him came to mind; he was always so downcast. He looked much the same now. “Seems appropriate.” So, at last, we had something to call the thief, if not his actual name.

“Alright, I’m going to talk to Softwear and Earl Grey again.” The others blinked, Sable cringed. “Sable’s parents.”

“I’ll go with you.” Fluttershy stepped towards me and nodded.

“I guess the rest of us can ask around town about Sable, Sereina, and our thief. Despair, whatever his name is.”

“Starlight, as you do that see if you can figure out if anypony else here has had their memory manipulated.” I had a flash of inspiration. “Watch their eyes. I think I saw something yesterday but didn’t make the connection.” They all nodded and split into two groups. Starlight, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash headed off in one direction under an umbrella spell provided by Starlight. Twilight, Spike, and Fluttershy started to turn towards the observatory on the hill outside town. The unicorn in the black coat remained in place. “Sable, you don’t have to come with us if you don’t want to.”

“If you need to you can wait here for us.” It was clear he was considering Fluttershy’s offer, glancing back into the warm inn.

“No… I should go too. If only because…” He trailed off into silence, unwilling to give words to his concern. I put a supportive hoof on his shoulder; he was trembling again. I nodded towards him and tried to provide him with a hopeful smile, pleased he was willing to face this. We walked out to the little cottage in the valley underneath my umbrella. Just as we reached the white picket fence, I heard Sable’s wings chiming against themselves, loud enough to be heard over the driving rain.

“Sable?” Fluttershy noticed first, Sable had stopped following. He was shivering, not just because of the rain.

“I can’t do this, not again.” He started to back away.

“It's all right. You can go back to the inn if you want.”

“I’ll just…” Half panicking, he glanced around before fixing his eyes on the white observatory. “Wait over here.” She was about to ask if he’d be alright when he spoke again. “I promise, I won’t run away. I just can’t go in there.”

“You’re sure?” He nodded, rain running off him in rivers. It only occurred to me now he might not have known the umbrella spell, he hadn’t used it that night of Pinkie’s surprise party either. “If you change your mind, we’ll be right here.” Sable nearly ran up to the observatory despite the heavy rain. Now I looked down to Spike, my request already on my tongue.

“I know, I know.” Spike was already following the unicorn. “I’ll keep an eye on him.”

“Thank you, Spike.” Fluttershy beat me to that. Now, down to just the two of us, we approached the door and knocked.

“Yes, hello?” This time it was Earl Grey who answered the door. “Princess! Welcome back!” The older unicorn glared up at the sky for an instant before stepping back and waving into the cozy little home. “Please, come in out of the rain.”

“I apologize for the intrusion.” He shut the door behind us, and I took a quick glance around the room. Softwear was hard at work over at the loom; rugs, tapestries, and folded cloth in neat stacks behind her. The blue pony glanced over, pausing only long enough to smile and wave before turning back to her work, wholly focused on what she was doing. The room was well lit and warm; a small fireplace crackled gently. A staircase led upstairs, and I saw another doorway leading to what looked like a study behind the stairs.

“Did you manage to find your friend?” Earl Grey seemed to be earnestly concerned. It took me a moment to recall the last bit of our conversation from yesterday.

“Oh, yes. He hadn’t gone far. Let me introduce you to Fluttershy, another friend of mine.” The unicorn bowed to the pegasus, very much like Sable would.

“Your home is lovely.” She returned the bow.

“Come, sit.” Earl Grey gestured to the table near the center of the living room, covered in small wooden parts little larger than splinters and a single clear glass bottle lying on its side. “Tell me how I can be of service to the Princess of Friendship.” Earl Grey started to put the little wooden parts on a nearby shelf, but before it got away, I managed to read the nameplate for the ship-in-a-bottle, the ‘Enterprise.’ The shelf he put the partially constructed vessel on had many other little bottle-ships on it.

“Actually, I have some questions for the two of you.” Softwear flicked her eyes up from her weaving for an instant and then frowned at her work. With a huff, directed inward, another gesture so similar to Sable, she stepped away to join us. “And I apologize ahead of time, but they might be a little strange from your point of view.” The two married ponies glanced at each other, confused.

“I’m flattered you think we might be able to help you. But what could we possibly provide you with?”

“It's quite a long story.” Fluttershy glanced away from Earl Grey.

“First of all, do you recognize the name Sable Stardust?” I watched them intently. Just as yesterday, their eyes flashed.

“No… no, I don’t think so.” Fluttershy winced at the flat tone of Softwear’s voice. I was not surprised.

“Have you ever met a charcoal black unicorn with scars all over their face? You would know, they are very distinctive.” The couple looked at each other again, both frowning.

“That doesn’t sound familiar.” Earl Grey answered, no flash this time. Curious.

“Do you know a pony named Sereina?” Fluttershy asked this question.

“No.” Simple and quick. Again, no flash. Equally curious.

“Have you ever seen this before?” Time for a new tactic. An illusion manifested by me appeared on the table, depicting the angular silver mask with the lightning motif. The only object which survived the fire at Sable’s hovel.

“Where did you find that? It disappeared off the Alicorn statue in town some years ago.” Now, that was interesting.

“Have either of you ever been to Canterlot?”

“Yes. Several times.” Ah, progress.

“Do you remember what you were doing there?”

“Of course, we were…” Softwear’s voice trailed off, and her gaze dropped to the table.

“Looking at a school? Why were we…?” Light flashed within their eyes again. “Must have been visiting a friend.” A pattern began to form in my mind.

“Do you have any children?” Both pairs of eyes flashed brightly at Fluttershy’s question. Each pony grasped at their head for a moment before returning to normal.

“No, unfortunately.”

“Not for lack of trying.” Earl Grey grinned playfully towards his wife. Softwear’s face flushed deeply.

“Earl Grey! Don’t embarrass me in front of the Princess!” She jabbed him in the side, without real force behind it.

“OK, I have one more question. And I want you to answer without thinking, just say the first thing that comes to mind.” I waited until I had their full attention. “Sable's favorite drink?”

“Sarsaparilla float.” Simultaneously both Earl Grey and Softwear answered, and had just enough time to face each other in surprise before their eyes shone brightly with blue light. Spasms overcame them, and they both fell to the floor, twitching.

“My goodness, are you alright?” Fluttershy darted around the table to support Softwear, I held Earl Grey steady with my magic, so he didn’t hurt himself. The spasms stopped after a moment, and they panted heavily, apparently in some pain. It was apparent now, whatever was done to them which removed Sable from their memory was not a one time effect.

“What was that?” Softwear stood, aided by Fluttershy. “Oh dear, I seem to have fallen. I’m not usually this clumsy.”

“Oh, my head.” Earl Grey blinked, noticing now how I immobilized him. “Would you mind putting me down please?” Still a little worried, I complied. “I’m sorry we couldn’t help you.”

“Actually, you were very helpful. And I have some bad news. You two have been enchanted, or cursed.”

“We have?” Softwear and Earl Grey stepped closer to each other, arm in arm, I could see them shaking a little.

“I’m afraid so.” I nodded and took a moment to choose my words carefully. I didn’t want to trigger the curse again. “You don’t know it, but you have lost someone important to you. They were taken from you, and your memory has been manipulated so that you would never know it. Do you remember the unicorn who was with me yesterday?”

“That jittery fellow in the black coat?”

“That was Sable Stardust, your son.” More blue light in the eyes of Sable’s parents when Fluttershy spoke.

“You must be mistaken. We don’t have a son.” Fluttershy winced again.

“If you wouldn’t mind, I want to inspect your minds. I might be able to remove the curse and restore your memory.” The couple stepped away from us to discuss it in some privacy.

“Do you really think you can help them?”

“I don’t know yet, I hope so. It depends on how the curse was designed.” Sable’s parents were still talking in low voices. I overheard Softwear say something about trust, gesturing towards us. I took Fluttershy to the window where I wouldn’t eavesdrop again. “Think about it; this could be our best chance to really help Sable. We can give him his family back!”

“Should we go get him?” The pegasus looked out towards the white observatory on the hill, concern clear as day on her face.

“Not yet. Let us not get his hopes up, just in case.”

“Oh… I guess he shouldn’t be here anyway; we don’t want to stress him or his family without good reason.”

“Princess Sparkle?” I turned away from the window to find Earl Grey and Softwear arm in arm, apprehensive but determined. “We’ve come to a decision. Please, go ahead.” The two took a seat by the table, and I stood before them. It took me a moment to decide which spells to use, and then I began. First, I went to Softwear and places my hooves on the mare’s temples before focusing.

“This may feel a bit strange, brace yourself.” An outside observer would only see the two of us facing each other with glowing eyes. If pressed I would find it difficult to explain precisely what I was doing; the mental realms can be confusing to describe. It was almost like standing at a hundred crossroads in a crowded city and trying to read signs in a foreign language you don’t understand. I searched Sable’s mother’s thought patterns, looking for the barriers and wards that a curse would leave. In this analogy, it would be like trying to find crossed out signs or roadblocks.

For a while I found nothing, there was not actually anything blocking Softwear’s thoughts directly, the roads were clear. So I pulled back, trying to see the whole city instead of the individual streets. And now I could see the hole, a section of her mind which had been cut off from the rest; there were no roads that led there. This quarter was blocked away by a force that continually built new structures wherever the streets might lead to the restricted area.

I imagined myself going to one such wall, as if it were a pile of bricks, and demolishing it. I could see the memories beyond, represented here by a park, but only until the wall repaired itself. I pulled back again, this time leaving the city entirely, and released Softwear. We both gasped, it was some time since we started.

“Twilight, are you alright?” Fluttershy held me upright, and Earl Grey braced his wife.

“I’m alright. I think I know what’s going on now. But I need to be sure. Earl Grey, are you ready?” The grey unicorn glanced down at his wife, still catching her breath. She smiled up at him supportingly and nodded. Earl Grey faced me and held very still while I placed my hooves on his temples as I did with Softwear.

Instead of diving low to skim the streets of the mind I stayed high where I could see everything. I watched the comings and goings of thoughts along the roads until I spied the walled-off park, just as before. Could I enter the area directly? When I came close, the curse threw up a fog before me, blinding me, and I found myself outside a locked gate. The spell was adaptable, clever. Deep in Earl Grey’s mind, I tried to break a small crack into the wall and peered inside. Not looking for memories now, I was trying to see what was building the walls. My entry was detected, and I spotted a shape facing me before the brick was replaced. It was a stone Alicorn, the statue from Pinewood Village. Twice more, at new entry points, I tried again. Each time I saw the figure, blocking the way further into the walled-off memories.

I released my hold on Earl Grey, falling back with a gasp. The room spun, no, it was me. Fluttershy grabbed me before my vertigo overwhelmed me. The pegasus helped me to remain standing, Softwear let Earl Grey rest his head on her shoulder. I didn’t hear the rain anymore, just water dripping off the roof outside the window.

“Did it work?”

“Other than dizzy, I don’t feel any different.” Earl Grey spoke first.

“No, the curse is still there. But I think I know what’s keeping it going now.” I stood on my own and turned to leave, Fluttershy followed. “I’m going to go see if I’m right. I’ll be back soon. Fluttershy, please wait here. I want somepony here in case I break the spell.” The pegasus nodded. I left the little cottage behind; the rain had stopped. The clouds above still threatened more, but at least it wasn’t pouring now. To save time I took back to the air, flying back towards the Alicorn statue at the center of the town.

The statue depicted a winged pony, sitting with their wings partially unfolded out behind them. One hoof was held out as if to let a bird land upon it. Its face, what’s left of it, was raised up towards the sky. Something glinted upon its head when a break in the clouds let the sun out for a moment, it was a faintly star-shaped slab of a silvery metal, fused to the stone, right where its right eye should be. In the exact spot where a similar break on Sable’s mask was. The garden around its base was poorly maintained, weeds choked out the few flowers which remained and ivy clung to the statue, climbing up to wrap around its neck and arm. There was no clue as to what ancient and forgotten hero the icon represented.

The poor statue itself was not what interested me; instead, it was the magic I believed the stone had been imbued with which brought me here. Using various detection spells, I poked and prodded it, physically and magically. There was definitely something magical at work with it. It took me several more minutes to figure out the enchantment, aided by a visualization like the one Sable used at the Crystal Heart.

The curse was mostly passive, responding only when a pony who lived within Pinewood Village thought of something specific, Sable Stardust in this case. That is why it took a moment to react when a stray thought led to him, such as the questions regarding Canterlot I asked his parents. Why Despair, assuming he was responsible, would target memories of Sable so explicitly, I did not know.

I was about to start dismantling the spell when I remembered the trap Despair left in the Crystal Empire. I backed away from the statue and searched about it for runes or other signs of danger. Despite searching for another few minutes, I didn’t find any. There didn’t seem to be any protections in place, and I wasn’t sure if that was comforting or not. Still, I had nothing left to lose now and closed my eyes to better focus on my work.

Slowly I began to unravel the curse, expecting at any moment to be beset by some hazard. Nothing tried to stop me, the spell itself put up almost no resistance. Despair clearly never assumed this would be detected, let alone removed. When the last magical construct dissolved, I opened my eyes to find the statue steaming slightly, the released power evaporating the rainwater. It seemed somehow more at peace than before, cleaner somehow. There was only one way to see if I was successful.

I glanced around, the saloon from yesterday was nearby. The same Bartender from before was still there and nodded towards me when I walked up.

“Good morning, what can I get for you?”

“Nothing for me, thanks. I was hoping you could answer a question?”

“Ask away.” He shrugged.

“You wouldn’t happen to know a unicorn named Sable Stardust would you?” For a moment I expected to see the flash of light that I had come to associate with the curse, but I didn’t see it.

“Stardust? Hmm… wasn’t that Softwear and Earl Grey’s kid?” It worked, the curse was dispelled!

“Yes!” My feet left the floor; I couldn’t contain my joy.

“Haven’t seen him in years. Used to come in and order a float whenever he needed to feel better. Wait… was that him yesterday?”

“Yes!” I jumped again, barely even listening.

“That's good to know he’s alright.” He nodded, oblivious to the fact that ten minutes ago he did not remember Sable at all.

“I’ve got to go, thank you so much!” I outright sprinted for the door with a laugh.

“You tell him I said hi when you see him again, alright?” In a moment I was back high into the air, speeding towards the observatory, easily visible from above.

* * *

_“You got rid of the curse! Good.”_

_“It sounds like it wasn’t even difficult.”_

_“…”_

_“Twilight? What’s wrong? You look a little ill.”_

_“Because I know what that spell really did…”_

* * *

Golden sunlight streamed through breaks in the clouds as I sped towards the white triangular structure. From above Sable and Spike were just tiny spots of black and purple respectively. I swooped down to land, beaming, but my smile faded when I saw Sable’s expression. He’d nearly curled into a ball, holding his head between his hooves, eyes wide. Spike was kneeling beside him, one claw on the unicorn’s shoulder.

“Sable, are you hurt?” Neon blue eyes glanced up at me when I landed, he made to respond, but his mouth worked uselessly. Spike answered for him.

“He just collapsed a minute ago; I don’t know what’s wrong.” That would be about the same time I dismantled the curse.

“Good news Sable, I found Despair’s curse and dispelled it!”

“What.” He found his voice; something hardened within it. Slowly he stood, his wings scraping, his eyes narrowing. Electric charge built in the air.

“He was manipulating the entire town’s memory with an enchantment on the Alicorn statue. Your parents will remember you again!”

“What?!” He snarled, voice exploding with anger. Lightning spilled out of his eyes and sparked off his horn. Spike backed away in a hurry, hiding behind my legs. This is not what I expected.

“But… I don’t understand.”

“Why would you do that!?” His voice boomed, magnified by magic. He lowered his head, wings and legs tensing as if to fight. “Didn’t you think it through?!” Only once before had I seen him this absolutely furious, the night we discovered his secret.

“You can have your family back! I thought…”

“No, you didn’t!” He advanced, magic sizzled in the air. “You didn’t consider what that spell really did!” What was he talking about? “It must have been terrible for them, not to know what they lost. So, of course, you just had to fix it!” Was he mocking me? “Oh yes. It was horrible what was done to them, a violation of the most private kind.” He was shouting, louder and more violent now than I had ever heard him before. “Whole lifetimes taken, stolen, minds warped against their will.”

“Yes, but…”

“Now you’ve done it to them again!” I had no response. “They were happy here, ignorant yes, but happy! Life was peaceful, better for them not knowing what was missing! Can you even begin to imagine what they lost this time?” With one wing he pointed accusingly at her. “Another lifetime stolen, forced upon them because _you_ thought you knew better?”

“I… I…” He continued to advance, and I fell back, the three of us passed beyond the edge of the observatory to where we could be seen from his parent’s home. Out the corner of my eye, I spotted several ponies run out of the cottage.

“And what about me? Did you consider what this would do to me? My only real memory of my parents is when I stood here, right here.” His hoof dug a hole where he jabbed hard into the ground. _“And watched them die!”_ Tears streamed down his face, unchecked. He thrust a wing towards the cottage without looking away from her. “Oh look, there they are! What do I have in common with them now? Nothing!”

“But, Despair’s curse…” With a furious roar, he cut me off.

“Think! I know you could see it! You saw the color of the flash in their eyes, same as I!” Despair’s cruel smile and hateful laughter come unbidden to my mind. “It wasn’t Despair that did this to them!” Fluttershy, Softwear, and Early Grey galloped up the hillside, just out of Sable’s view. **_“It was me!”_**

“Sable! Are you alright?” His parents called out to him. Reflexively he rounded on them, lightning arcing forth and tracing a scar line across the ground and observatory wall. They gasped, shocked their own son would attack them. Everypony was stunned, even Sable. For just a short moment he locked eyes with his parents, apologetic, a million unsaid words between them. Then he reared, throwing his glass wings wide and readied to leap into the air, static building anew around him.

I was no prescient; I couldn’t see the future any more than any random pony. But in that instant, I could see how it would all have ended. Sable would vanish, teleporting into the distance. With nothing left to lose, he would undoubtedly flee, would never return here or to Ponyville. If he ran now, he would just disappear into the wide world, no matter how hard I would look I wouldn’t find him. I would never see him again.

Just as his spell completed I tackled into him, lightning and thunder cracked, my nerves ignited in pain for the flash. Grey clouds surrounded us, the ground now far below. My arms and legs were locked around him, refusing to let him go. Wind ripped at us, mane and coat and tail all tangling, and we spun in an uncontrolled descent.

“Get off!” He kicked at me, tried to push me away.

“No! Don’t go!” Again he tried to teleport, this time without me. Before he could cast I buffeted his face with my wings, disrupting his concentration. “I’m not letting you run away from this!” Neither one of us could get any air under our wings; the spin was too much. We burst through the clouds, plummeting. I heard the others below, screaming our names.

“The fall will kill you!” Even then I noted that his thoughts were for me, not himself.

“Save us! I know you can!”

“Let me go!” My grasp was lost as power exploded between us. For just an instant we were held aloft by the magic burst, eyes locked. The wind caught beneath Sable’s wings; he snapped away. Then I tumbled, alone.

Despite knowing I could easily rescue myself, I let gravity take over, and closed my eyes. The Sable Stardust I knew would never hurt me. I trusted him, no matter how much he might have hated himself. Tears were swept away by the winds as I fell headfirst. He’d come back. Still, I fell.

“Come back, Sable, and save me.” It was just a whisper, there was no way he could have heard me. Thunder clapped, right beneath me. I let a faint smile come to my lips as Sable wrapped his arms around me. I opened my eyes to see his agony-ridden and tear streaked face. Magic tingled, Sable slowing us as we reached the ground. Very gently he set me down, his wings dragging on the dirt before he collapsed beside me.

“I’m sorry.” He choked it out, barely able to speak. “I’m sorry.” Voices called his name, Sable’s parents rushing to us. I backed away as they embraced their lost child. “I’m so sorry.” At last broke down wholly, regressing to just a little lost foal crying out in pain for his parents.

“That was really dumb.” Spike reprimanded me, Fluttershy clearly agreed even though it was also apparent they were both relieved I was alright.

“Yes, but it was worth it.”

* * *

_“It was Sable who cast the curse? But… why?”_

_“That’s utterly appalling. To do it to his own parents!”_

_“Wait… this means the curse still affects them in real life, doesn’t it?”_

_“Yes, that’s correct. I… don’t know what we should do about that.”_

_“Cure them, obviously.”_

_“Is that such a good idea? Didn’t you just hear what he did?”_

_“But… why did he go insane like that?”_

_“Because, he saw what he did as a cruel and horrible thing, and he saw what I did as the same thing. From his perspective, he violated them, and it broke him to face it.”_

* * *

“I don’t understand.” Everypony was here now, inside the little cottage in the valley, seated or standing around the living room. It was a bit crowded with ten ponies and a dragonling crammed in. “How did you figure out it was you who created the memory curse?” Sable, broken, sat between his parents, he could barely bring himself to look up at Starlight.

“I realized yesterday.” His voice was badly cracked and hoarse. “When we were here.” He glanced towards his mother and then his father, who each had an arm around him. “I saw the flash in their eyes, the color of my magic.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I think it was because he wasn’t sure exactly what he had done yet.” I answered for him, guessing. The look in his eyes told me I was close enough. “And because… he didn’t want to face it.” He flinched but did not deny it.

“I don’t blame you.” Rarity meant she did not blame him for wanting to avoid the conversation. Sable appeared to misunderstand.

“You should.”

“But why?” Softwear brushed a hoof down his mane, she meant it to be comforting, but he shook her off. “Why did you do this?”

“…I don’t know.” He hesitated, I’d seen him do this before. There was more to it than that.

“Yes, you do.” He tried to shoot a piercing glare at me; he had no strength left to be honestly angry with me. “It has to do with your cutie-mark.”

“Of course it does.”

“You still haven’t found it, have you?” Earl Grey hugged his son. “Even after all these years?” Sable nodded sadly. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

“Why does everypony do that?” He ripped his head away from his father. “It's not your fault.” In Earl Grey’s expression, I could see this conversation had played out a hundred times before.

“Sable, if you know why you did this, you should tell us.” Sable’s eyes fell to the floor, trying to ignore Applejack’s request.

“When we find Sereina.”

“Who?” His parents shared a glance; neither one seemed to recognize the name. Why didn’t they know her? This didn’t make sense, removing the curse should have restored their memory of her.

“That’s not fair.” Fluttershy approached. I blinked, confused at the accusatory tone in her voice. “You can’t avoid this like that. You think we’ll never find her, don’t you?” Something unsaid passed between them, and I could see Sable realize what Fluttershy knew.

“Fluttershy, what do you mean?” The yellow pegasus refused to answer Rarity, remaining focused on Sable. She placed a hoof on his forearm.

“No more secrets.” He continued to hesitate. “Or do you want me to say it?”

“Alright, you win.” He sighed, defeated again, and visibly braced himself. “We won’t ever find Sereina because she doesn’t exist.”

“Say what?” Rainbow Dash’s jaw dropped. “What are you saying? Is she dead?”

“She never existed in the first place. She’s not real.”

“OK, I’m confused. Can anypony explain?” Pinkie was not the only one.

“I can try.” Fluttershy took over. “I don’t know how the magic part works, but I think I understand the reasoning.” She didn’t take her eyes off of Sable. “You didn’t have any friends growing up, so you created one for yourself. One who would support you, understand you.” Sable started to shake again; it was clear he never wanted to hear this out loud. No coat could keep a pony warm against that kind of chill. Then Fluttershy embraced the purple unicorn in the black coat. “I don’t think any less of you for it.” Even if only for a moment I saw the relief on his face. If there were enough room, I would be there to help too. As it was, only Softwear and Earl Grey could provide more warmth for him, taking him from Fluttershy when she let him go. “I can’t imagine what it must have been like to grow up so lonely.”

“I think I understand now.” I spoke up. “But why did you tell me that story…” I stopped, looking at his parents. I had to word this carefully. “Of the night of the rockslide, you said Sereina was there. Why did you lie to me?”

“I didn’t lie.”

“But…”

“I told you the truth, as I knew it.” There was only silence; it was still not clear what he meant. “There was another aspect to the spell I placed on the Alicorn statue. It was… a masterwork, my greatest accomplishment, and I didn’t even know it.” He turned his neon blue eyes on me. “Until you destroyed it. Until you dismantled the spell, the story I told you was what I knew to be the truth.” He paused, and everypony gave him the time needed to organize his thoughts. “I used my own magic on myself. I rewrote my own memory.” He crumpled like paper, curling into a ball between his parents, the same way he did the night we found out his secret.

“I still don’t get it.” Spike scratched the side of his head.

“I ran away; I couldn’t face it anymore.” Tears rolled down his face again; he did not attempt to hide them. “I thought… I thought everything would be better if I never existed in the first place.” He cracked again, his breathing shallow. “So I made that the truth. I took myself out of the memory of the world, locked away behind the magic in the statue. I knew I could never come back again, so I made it so I never would.”

“You gave yourself a memory so horrid that you would never willingly come back.” At last, it made sense, terrible though it was.

“And then locked the memory of the creation of that memory behind the same spell.” He nodded to Starlight, and the effort seemed to pain him.

“I took the silver mask from the statue with me, in case I ever changed my mind. It was the key to the lock. All I would have had to do was to put it on, and I would know the truth, the real truth. If I returned it to the statue, it would have undone the spell entirely, and everything would go back to the way it should have been.”

“Why do you know this all now?” It was Applejack’s question. “I thought your memory was gone?”

“What?!” Softwear gasped. We still hadn’t told his parents about the accident yet, that would have to come soon.

“When I dismantled the spell myself, it must have removed the blocks around these memories.” He nodded again. “Did you get anything else back?” He shook his head. “Only what relates to the enchantment?” And he nodded affirmatively.

“What do you mean? He lost his memory?” Earl Grey once again put his arm around Sable, holding his son close.

“There was an accident. He was trying to go back in time to…”

“I thought I was saving your lives. The spell failed, and I lost almost everything.” The short version, apparently.

“But you’re back home now. We can help you get it all back.” Softwear again brushed at his mane. The day under the willow came back to me. Did he still want to leave his old past behind? I could easily read his uncertainty, plain as text on a page.

“No need to make a permanent decision just yet.” Rarity came to his rescue. “Your life in Ponyville can wait if you need to spend some time here.”

“The rest of us can’t stay. We’ve been away too long as it is.”

“I’m afraid Applejack is right.” I sighed. “We all have responsibilities we left behind to chase Despair; we need to go home.” Earl Grey looked at a clock on the wall, very similar to the one Sable tried to make, and frowned.

“Then you had better get going. We’re out at the end of the line, the last train for today leaves pretty soon.” My friends and I all looked at each other, we all knew we needed to leave, we just hadn’t expected it to be so soon. “We’ll walk you to the station.”

We all filtered out of the little cottage in the valley, heading back into town. Sable was silent the whole way, following at the back of the herd. Each time I looked back, he seemed more and more downtrodden. We reached the station only a few minutes before the train was scheduled to depart, it was already loading cargo and passengers on board. Tickets were purchased, and most of the group took seats in the passenger car. Fluttershy and I were the two to hang back the longest.

“Don’t worry, Sable.” The yellow pegasus patted him on the shoulder. “We’ll be waiting for you to come back when you’re ready.” He nodded, sadly, a few tears dripped to the ground. Then she turned and boarded the train. He meekly reached for her, but she was gone, whatever he was going to say dead in his throat.

“Ponyville isn’t so far away, in the end. Take whatever time you need. Learn who your parents are, learn who you used to be. Then you can decide what you want to do. After all, you still have hope.” I backed onto the passenger car, bowing deeply towards him. Despite knowing it was not a permanent separation, it still felt final somehow. “Goodbye, Sable Stardust.” The door shut between us, and I found a seat.

Out the window I could see Sable and his parents, the couple was giving him just enough space to be polite. He stood alone on the platform, watching me through the glass. He waved slowly as the train whistle blew and it pulled away. Glass wings flashed as Sable jumped into the air, I could still see him hanging above the town even as the trees obscured the village itself. A bolt of neon blue lightning jumped from the distant unicorn, leaping up into the clouds above and illuminating the grey sky like an aurora. A long low boom rolled over the train, deep enough to be felt right into the bones, a heartfelt farewell to his friends.


	7. Distant Thunder

_“You just left him there? Alone?”_

_“Not alone, he was with his parents.”_

_“I can’t wrap my head around it. He manipulated himself too? Gave himself a fake marefriend, just to kill her?”_

_“That’s all sorts of creepy.”_

_“Give him some slack. None of us can imagine growing up so alone.”_

_“I can… it wasn’t quite as bad for me growing up, but we both snapped under the strain. If I had that kind of magic at my disposal… I don’t want to think about the damage I could have done.”_

* * *

I yawned and stretched my wings, looking out my window in the morning light. Briefly, I considered my schedule for today, for the first time in a while I had some free time. It’s been two weeks since we returned from the distant reaches of Equestria, and I only finally yesterday got caught up on all the work I had to set aside. Life in Ponyville returned to normal quickly enough, the castle was repaired, and everypony went back to their old routines.

Two weeks since the encounter with the thief, Despair. Again I sent a message to the other Princesses, warning them of what Despair said. Fortunately, there had been no more sign of the Charcoal colored pony with the scarred face. Hopefully, the loss of the Amulet had convinced him to give up whatever scheme he was planning. On a whim I cast Sable’s tracking spell, the little arrow spun wildly. The amulet remained hidden. Relieved, I headed away to find breakfast.

Two weeks since we reunited Sable Stardust with his family. No sign of him either. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. On one hoof it meant he hadn’t run back here to get away from his past, on the other, it meant I didn’t know if he was still with them. With all my duties I hadn’t had much time to think about him.

Without even thinking I knocked on the door in front of me to ask if the one within would join me for breakfast before realizing that it was Sable’s room, and he was not there to answer. The door swung open on smooth hinges, the room inside was still dark as Sable usually left his shutters closed so he could sleep in. Somewhat disappointingly there was very little of his personality on display in here. He never bothered to decorate it to suit his tastes. Pretty much the only items he put in here were the silver mask, now sitting lonely on a shelf, and the pages of sketches he was working on. The last time I came in here all I did was leave the pile of gears and sheets from the project he was working on in the library on the dresser.

With a sigh, I started to close the door when something reflected from atop the nightstand. Curious, I checked it out. It was a corner of a scroll, torn from the page and framed. I had to bring it into the light to see it properly, and it was revealed to be the sketch he made of me the day at the lake. The image must have meant more to him than I thought, he hadn’t bothered to preserve anything else he made, and I carefully placed it back where I found it. Presumably, he would want this back when he returned. If he returned.

A shadow blocked the square of light from the door. I looked back to see Spike standing there.

“Yeah, I miss him too. But don’t you think the melancholy is a bit much? It hasn’t been all that long.”

“I didn’t realize how much I got used to him being around.” Once back out in the hall, I closed the door firmly.

“You can tone it down a few notches.” I laughed, heading towards breakfast.

“So what did you talk to him about?” After our meal, I brought up the topic again.

“Me?”

“Yeah, you. Seriously, what did you two talk about?”

“Guy stuff mostly.”

“Guy stuff? Like what girls you’re interested in or how much you can lift?”

“Nah.” He waved a dismissive claw. “Comics and games, mostly. I invited him to O&O night a few times. But I think he found us a little intimidating.”

“You?” I had to repress a giggle.

“Hey, I can be intimidating!” I shot him a knowing look out the corner of my eye. “Well OK, maybe mostly Discord.”

“I suppose that's fair. Did he join?”

“He seemed interested, and I loaned him the books. But then… Despair came after the Amulet before the next session.”

“Yeah…”

“Did he really have to pick such a depressing name? Wouldn’t something a bit more dramatic have been better, like ‘Shadow Thief,’ or ‘Rage Tempest’ or something like that?”

“Despair is plenty dramatic enough.”

“Oh, or ‘Scarflank!’ Totally should have gone with Scarflank.” I rolled my eyes.

“So that was it, just game stuff?”

“He kept to himself for the most part. Trying to get him to talk was like pulling teeth sometimes.”

“Hmm, Fluttershy and I never had quite that much trouble.”

“Yeah, but you’re… well, you. Getting ponies to open up is sort of your thing.” Spike glanced up at the clock. “Come on; we’ve got stuff to do.”

The rest of the morning I spent signing papers and writing letters. I had an idea for a grand festival I wanted to run past the other princesses, and it was going to take a while to organize. After that, I met with Mayor Mare before lunch with Starlight Glimmer and Trixie. The conversation was polite, but not particularly pleasant; I never really got along with Trixie. When the meal was over I headed out for a walk to clear my mind and de-stress, Spike ran off to the comic shop to see if the new power-ponies issue was out.

Now alone, I wandered, letting my hooves take me where they wanted. First through the park, and then out to the lake. For a moment I considered taking a break here, but wanderlust called, and I continued to roam aimlessly. Or perhaps not so aimlessly, as I soon found myself standing where Sable’s hovel once stood. The willow he transformed still stood tall beside the pond.

I brushed the veil of leaves aside to enter. The sunlight glowed through to the white underside of the leaves, illuminating the interior with a calming light. The flowers within, a hundred colors and varieties, grew with petals wide open and soak up the almost holy light. Carefully I stepped over them, listening to the wind through the branches and the birdsong in the air. For a long moment, I breathed in the atmosphere and settled down at the very base of the willow to rest.

I blinked, finding myself in a field of ash, flowers dry and crispy beneath my hooves. Looking around I saw nothing but dust in the air; the sun couldn’t be seen, only a pale twilit glow illuminated the ashen land. Something laughed, cruel. I spun and turned, looking for the origin of the sound, I seemed to be alone.

“Get it now?” The sinister voice spoke from right behind me, and I whirled to find a dark figure standing there, something whipped around it like a cloak. It cracked a horrid smile, a white arc on a face charred ebon black; it didn’t seem to have eyes. “What I did?” The voice was familiar.

“Who are you?” The creature didn’t respond immediately. It was faintly equine, wretchedly thin and wasted, with a mane and tail like smoke. A horn on its head seemed to made from a pair of spiraling jagged metal spikes.

“You think you know me?” It took one halting step towards me and collapsed into dust, disappearing into the ash below my hooves. I backed away from where it was standing. “You have no idea, do you?” I spun, the creature standing again before me.

“What are you?” The thing was as still as stone.

“Think, Princess. You can save me.” I tried to respond, to ask ‘from what?’ But I had no mouth.

“Or maybe you cannot.” A second voice, or perhaps the same one. A second creature, identical to the first, stood now beside its twin. The hot wind blew, throwing dust into my eyes. “No matter what you see, you will remain blind.” As one, both creatures reached up and tore off their faces. Black flakes peeled away, revealing a visage I knew. “See me.”

I blinked, awoken by a scratching noise like quill on paper and the drums in my ears. I was still under the willow’s veil, surrounded by Sable’s flowers. A few deep breaths later and the drums ceased, my pulse returning to normal. The ash field and the thin black creatures were only a passing dream.

Something moved by the edge of the willow leaves, I caught sight of the tip of a tail disappearing out of view. It was black, with a streak of neon blue.

“Wait!” I rose from my seat, leaping over the flowers in my haste. This place was very relaxing, and part of my mind was already planning to put in stepping stones and a proper seat at the base of the tree. I burst out of the veil of leaves and looked around. There he was, standing calmly not far away and facing towards me, a saddlebag over his black coat. Sable Stardust bowed, flaring his glass wings low to the sides.

“You called?”

“Sable! Welcome back!” I nearly landed on him in my excitement. “When did you get here?” He took a step back, so we weren’t nose to nose.

“I only just arrived. I was going to drop by the castle soon to see if you were there.” He smiled, almost. “Looks like I didn’t have to. I didn’t expect to find you here.”

“I was just relaxing.” I gestured back to the willow. “Your tree is quite calming.”

“If it pleases you, then it was worth the effort.” Now he turned towards the castle and started off.

“You seem better.” I trotted up beside him; his stride was somewhat longer than it used to be. A sign of confidence?

“Ha, that wouldn’t be hard to believe. I was pretty miserable when you left.”

“How did it go with your parents?”

“Have you ever been embarrassed by your parents bringing out baby pictures?”

“Yeah.”

“Basically, two weeks of that.” I laughed, he clearly meant it as a joke. “But that isn’t my home anymore. I couldn’t stay. There’s too much…” He faded away, unwilling to say the rest. “And don’t worry, I promised them I would keep in touch.” That was good to hear. “What about you? Have you been keeping busy?”

“There was so much work to catch up on, but I managed. Did you get anything back?”

“A bit. Mostly of my early childhood. Which… I guess I’m glad to have back.”

“You guess? Anything wrong?” It took several moments for him to respond, I could tell he was thinking about it.

“The little foal I was, I can’t see that becoming me.” He slowed, looking down at his hooves. “He was so… hopeful.”

“No pony is the same as they were as a foal. Everpony changes.”

“I know. But still, the little Stardust knew nothing, saw only endless possibility ahead of him. It feels a little incongruous to me.” I looked him over again, considering how I thought of him.

“I think he grew up, not as openly outgoing, a bit more cynical, but still hopeful. You haven’t given up just yet.”

“There she is.” He smiled faintly, but his eyes said something else entirely. If I was reading him right, he thought that perhaps he had given up, probably because of that moment when he tried to run. He was silent for a while as we headed back to town.

“Sable?” An ear slanted towards me. “Why did you run?” He stumbled and stopped walking.

“Already? I shouldn’t be surprised.” He sighed, looking up into the sky. “I ran because I was afraid of what I’d done. Because I was a monster.”

“No, you weren’t. Scared, sure. But no monster.”

“Yes I was, you can’t explain it away as simple fear. Look at what I did.” He pointed south, towards his hometown. “I mangled the minds of the entire town, my own parents.” He was almost breathless. “How could anypony not hate me for it? It would have been well deserved.”

“What you did to them was wrong, that's true.” I placed a hoof on his shoulder; he refused to meet me eye to eye. “But you paid for that mistake too. You thought you lost so much. Just because the night of the storm didn’t… physically happen doesn’t mean the trauma wasn’t real.” I had almost said it did not ‘actually’ happen, but that would have been a lie.

“It’s easier to be forgiven by others… than to forgive yourself.” He turned away and continued towards the castle, a bit slower than before. “Enough. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” His tone made it clear he would say no more on this, even if pressed. He remained resolutely silent even when we reached the castle.

“Spike missed you.” He laughed, despite himself, as we climbed the stairs to the upper floors. “I think his offer to join the guys at game night still stands.”

“Maybe I will. As long as Discord doesn’t turn me into a cactus or something.”

“I don’t think he’ll do that.” Now it was my turn to laugh. “But… I can’t promise he won’t do anything to mess with you. He’s not exactly predictable.”

“Or subtle.” He opened the door to his room, entering into the darkness. “Actually, I have something to show you.”

“Oh?” From within his saddlebag, he withdrew a simple box about the size of a large plate and passed it to me. Inside was a strange circular object, made of concentric rings and glass spheres. “What is it?” I flipped the object over in front of myself several times. The central circle was surrounded by a transparent glass sphere and painted with a simple map of Equestria. Beneath the central globe, a brass base had several switches on it.

“I was working on it when Despair attacked.” The two outer rings each had a glass sphere embedded within, one soft white and the other yellow. Only now did I recognize it.

“It’s an orrery!” A mechanical model of the planets and celestial objects. This one only had the world, the sun, and the moon. Other more complex versions sometimes include the rest of the planets and have proper relative motions of each. “You made this yourself?” He took it from her, setting it on the floor in the middle of the room.

“Mostly.” With a press of a small switch on the base, the sun and moon began to orbit the central sphere. Then he shut the door, plunging the room into nearly pitch blackness. “Wait, it gets better.” I heard another click, and two sources of light gently illuminated the room. The solar and lunar objects on his orrery began to shine, giving off as much light as a candle as they slowly spun around the model world.

“Oh, very nice.”

“And I’m not done.” He pressed the third switch, and the central sphere flickered once. Tiny specks of light were projected out into the room, and the orrery levitated until it sat at head height off the floor. Small illusory clouds emitted from the model, and a tiny comet traveled past my nose to pass through a faint aurora hanging over the Equestria sphere. I blinked and stared at the starscape that surrounded me. In wonder, I spun, taking it all in, spying familiar shapes in the stars.

“Those are accurate constellations!”

“I made the model, and my father helped me get the stars just right. I left my old notes here, so I had to start over from scratch.”

“It's wonderful; I’m impressed.” The comet swung around the sun, and as it passed before Sable’s face it illuminated his soft smile, his eyes were closed.

“I’m glad you like it, because I made it for you.” He let the orrery spin for a few more seconds before opening one of the windows, the natural bright sunlight overwhelmed the limits of the illusion, and it dissipated.

“Really? Why?”

“To thank you. You let me stay here, in your own home, even after I attacked Starlight and Spike. I felt I needed to do something nice for you in return. It may not be much, but there it is.”

“Oh, thank you.” With a smile, I accepted the gift. After he returned the orrery to me, he started to unpack his saddlebag. First to come out was a glass bottle with a small ship inside, which his father must have given him, the nameplate of this one was the ‘Stargazer.’ The ship was set on the shelf next to the silver mask. For a moment he paused, I could see him eying the mask. “So what are you going to do with it?”

“I don’t know. I guess I should send it back to Pinewood.” He lifted it down from the shelf, turning it over in front of him. “Or destroy it.”

“Why would you do that?”

“The emotions I feel when I see it now are all fake. Sereina wasn’t real.”

“Even though it hurt, you kept the mask anyways.” Neon blue eyes fixed on me. “You could have destroyed it or thrown it away at any point during those years you didn’t know the truth. I think you should keep it, as a reminder.”

“That I re-wrote my own memory? Or of a pony who never existed in the first place?”

“Of a time in your life that helped define who you are now.” I took the mask from him and set it back on the shelf next to the ship-in-a-bottle. “It was important to you then, I think it still is now, and that alone is reason enough.” Silence lingered for a moment as he stared at the mask, obviously considering my words. Then he shook his head and turned away, taking a folded blanket from his bag and placing it on the bed. Even from across the room I saw the depiction of Sable and his parents on the blanket. Clearly, it was his mother’s work. “Just think about it. I’ll see you later.”

I waved to him and turned to leave, and something crinkled under my hoof. I glanced down; I’d stepped on a scroll. It wasn’t there earlier; it must have fallen out of Sable’s pack when he got the orrery out. I lifted it from the floor, intending to return it to Sable when it unrolled to reveal another sketch. The pony in the image was almost cat-like, drawn in profile, sitting peacefully surrounded by simple flowers. It wasn’t finished, the mane and tail were missing. It was quite undeniably another drawing of me, when I was napping in the willow.

“Sable, how long were you there before I woke up?” At this, he glanced back, and when he saw what I was holding he snatched it from me so quickly it nearly tore. He tried to whistle innocently, pretending to be interested in the ceiling, as he shoved the scroll under his saddlebag. “You don’t need to be embarrassed.” I laughed happily. “If sketching helps, then go for it.” Now I turned away to leave and called back once more over my shoulder. “Although you might want to ask permission next time.”

* * *

_“There’s his romantic side again.”_

_“You still didn’t see it?”_

_“See what?”_

_“Come on Twilight; you aren’t this oblivious.”_

_“What are you talking about?”_

_“Sable, he-”_

_“No, Fluttershy, don’t tell her! I want to see her face when she figures it out.”_

_“…What?”_

* * *

“Now that you are back in Ponyville, what are you going to do next?” Spike, Starlight, Sable, and I were all sharing breakfast this morning. For once Sable got up at a reasonable hour.

“I’m still not sure.” Sable took a bite out of his waffle, chewing while he thought. “I suppose it’s back to searching.” He tapped his flank with a wing panel. “I wish I had a better plan.”

“About that.” Starlight took a sip of coffee. “It just occurred to me that I don’t know if you ever met the Cutie Mark Crusaders.”

“The who?” He nibbled on another waffle corner.

“Just before the accident I suggested Twilight introduce you to them. They specialize in helping foals and fillies find their cutie-marks.”

“Really?” He dragged out the word, eying me with some suspicion. “And you never thought to tell me because…?”

“Hey, don’t blame me! When I offered you said you didn’t think they could help. Although, that was quite literally right before the accident.” I shrugged. “I guess I thought you still felt the same.”

“Well then.” He lifted the rest of his waffle off the plate and shoved it whole into his mouth, chewing and swallowing quickly, then wiping away a stray bead of syrup before it could drip onto his coat. “I think it’s time I see if that’s still true.” He delayed only long enough to down the rest of his water before heading to the door.

“You might be jumping the gun just a bit there. Do you even know where, or who, they are?”

“Not a clue.” Pretty upbeat sounding, considering.

“So you planned to wander around town looking for somepony you don’t know?”

“No, my plan was to stand outside with a dumb expression on my face until they spontaneously appeared before me.” He rolled his eyes as we laughed. “Obviously I was going to have to ask you for directions.”

“I’ll take you there.” I volunteered, I was the one there who knew the Crusaders the best anyway. “Spike, you can go ahead and get started without me.”

“Sure, why not, it's not like I enjoy all the paperwork or anything.”

“Ha, you know how much I appreciate all the help. I’ll be back soon.” Then I headed out beside the unicorn in the black coat.

“Good luck, Sable!” Starlight called out as we left. Sable paused just outside, taking in a deep breath of clean morning air.

“Somepony is in a good mood this morning.” I steered us towards the Crusader’s clubhouse, on the other side of town.

“I’m just relieved to be back in Ponyville.” The tone of the final note made it sound as if he were about to say more.

“And…?” He glanced my way, mild suspicion written plainly in his expression.

“And you need to stop reading me like an open book.” I giggled. “Pinewood is a cozy enough little frontier town, but I can never really be comfortable there again.”

“The memories are too painful?”

“Not in and of themselves. But when I see the faces of those there, all I can see is what I did to them, the years I stole.” He let his head fall, and silence lingered between us as we walked. It took me a minute to find something that might brighten his mood.

“If it makes you feel any better. When I was taking your enchantment apart, I noticed how particular the effect was.” He looked away, at the ponies talking and working and living. One earth pony stallion in a nearby cafe looked up from his breakfast and watched us back. “You may have taken the memories of yourself from them, but that was all you took, you were very careful about that. They didn’t lose anything else.”

“I think it does help, actually.” We continued towards the Crusader’s clubhouse for a few more moments until a voice called from behind.

“Stardust! That you, Dude?” Sable stopped and turned back, the pony that saw us before galloped up, seafoam green in color with a very short blond mane, and his cutie-mark was a surfboard on a wave. “There you are!”

“I’m sorry? Have we met?” He sounded genuinely confused.

“That’s not funny, man.” The newcomer frowned. “You haven’t responded to any of our letters in months; we were starting to get worried something happened to you, dude.”

“Excuse me, but who are you?” I went to Sable’s rescue; he was already starting to back away. Only now did the excited pony address me, his eyes opening wide when he saw who I was.

“Princess! I’m sorry! My name is Wave Dasher.” He bowed towards me before turning his attention back towards the unicorn in the black coat. “Why didn’t you tell us you were hanging with the Princess of Friendship?” Wave Dasher jerked his head towards me, sounding outright impressed. “You’re a lucky dude.” Something not quite recognition flashed in Sable’s eyes and he must have come to the same conclusion I did. Wave Dasher must have been a pony he met while he wandered Equestria before settling in Ponyville.

“Wave Dasher, I’m sorry.” I heard him about to say more. Wave Dasher, however, did not.

“That’s alright. It's just nice to see you haven’t fallen off the map.” Wave Dasher turned to wave at another pony coming our way, a red earth pony mare with a pale pink mane nearly as short as his own, her mark a series of musical notes. “Ruby Song and I are heading out to Las Pegasus. We stopped by Ponyville to see her parents.” He kissed the mare on the cheek when she stepped up them. Sable nodded towards her.

“Wave, we’ve got to go, or we’ll miss the train.” She had a voice that chimed brightly. She bowed quickly to me and waved to Sable.

“Go on ahead, babe, I’ll be right there.” Ruby Song giggled and headed over towards the station, Wave Dasher hung back for a moment longer. The greenish earth pony smiled as he faced Sable. “I’m gonna propose to her; I’ve got it all planned out! Never would have met her if not for you.” With a mischievous smile, he jabbed Sable in the ribs, causing the unicorn to stumble and flare his wings for stability. “So I finally get to see your sweet wings, dude!” He smiled appreciatively for an instant as he eyed them. “Gotta dash!”

“Good luck!” Sable called out, somewhat uncertainly, as the excited Wave Dasher chased after his marefriend. “There’s got to be a story there.” Whatever confidence had been in Sable’s voice faded away to sullenness. “Maybe someday I’ll know it.” When the two visitors had disappeared out of view, I turned back towards the Crusader’s clubhouse, and Sable followed.

“I guess you kept in touch with some of the ponies you met before arriving here in Ponyville.” Inwardly I reprimanded myself; I had foolishly assumed he had no friends left from before he came here. “We should see if the post office has any letters for you, in case there are others.”

“I had not considered that possibility. I should also go back to the cathedral tree; maybe there were one or two in my mailbox before the fire.”

“It wouldn’t hurt to check.” Without further interruption, we arrived at the Crusader’s base a little while later. The clubhouse sat perched in an apple tree in a relatively private part of Sweet Apple Acres farm. It was relatively large for a treehouse and had a little ramp which could be drawn up to prevent access, leftover from when it was a playhouse for Applejack.

“Twilight, just how old are these Cutie Mark Crusaders?” Sable eyed the clubhouse with some trepidation.

“Don’t worry; they are more experienced than you might think. They got their own cutie marks helping others realize theirs.”

“That was… not what I asked.” I chuckled and climbed up the ramp to the door to knock. I heard voices inside. Sable remained on the ground, frowning.

“Apple Bloom? Sweetie Belle? Scootaloo? Are you there?” A moment later the door opened, revealing the trio of fillies. The wall opposite the door was covered in pictures of foals the group has helped before.

“Twilight!” Apple Bloom, Applejack’s little sister, invited me in with a wave.

“What can the Cutie Mark Crusaders do for you today?” Scootaloo, the little orange pegasus, bounced with each word of their group’s name.

“Hey girls, I have a new client for you.”

“Really?!” Sweetie Belle, Rarity’s little sister and resident white unicorn, beamed a wide smile. All three were always excited to jump in to help. “Where are they?!”

“He’s right outside.”

“Uh, Twilight?” Scootaloo looked out one of the front windows. “There’s only a stallion out there, is he dropping off his little brother or something?”

“This case… might be a bit special.” The three Crusaders shared a glance, all equally confused. I poked my head back out the door. “Come on up, Sable. Don’t be shy.” The dark purple unicorn hesitated, walking only slowly up the ramp. I turned back to the trio. “He’s a bit sensitive, so try not to overwhelm him, please.” Sable stepped inside and stood beside the open door, looking down at the young fillies with some reservations written plainly on his face.

“Oh hey, I know that guy.” Apple Bloom spoke up, and the other two faced her. “He helps out at the farm sometimes.” Now she addressed the stallion. “So how can we help you?”

“Are you sure about this?” He directed this to me, clearly doubting the capability of the little ponies.

“We’re already here. Give them a chance.” I shut the door, severely limiting his options. He sighed, and using magic flipped his coat up, and held his wing out of the way so the trio of little ponies could see.

“Whoa.” As one all three ogled his wings and stared at his blank flank, somewhat amazed. He returned the coat to its normal position, shifting uncomfortably as he folded his wing.

“I’ve never seen a blank-flank stallion before.” Sweetie Belle was the first to break the silence. Sable’s wings twitched slightly.

“It’s a unique event, as far as I can tell.” The trio turned towards me. “And I have to make you promise not to spread it around.” When the Crusaders appeared not to understand I stamped my hoof sternly, the clubhouse creaked slightly, and Sable flinched. “Seriously, girls. Promise me you won’t go gossiping about this.” At this, all three Crusaders placed a hoof over their hearts.

“We promise, no blabbing!” Then the Crusaders turned back to the larger unicorn.

“Into the deep end, I go.” He shook his head disapprovingly. “Very well. I am Sable Stardust.” He tilted his head slightly and nodded to them, that same familiar and respectful bow. “And I require your assistance.”

“All right then. I have to get back to the Castle.” I opened the door and started out. “Good luck, Sable. And have fun, everyone!” As I left, I could hear the Crusaders already grilling Sable about his past and developing plans and activities to help him find his mark.

Several hours later, well into the afternoon, I returned to the Crusader’s clubhouse only to find it empty. There were clear signs of recent activity, scattered across the floor were numerous papers and charts and drawings detailing dozens of quick attempts to find a mark. The Crusaders were obviously equally confused and confounded by Sable’s blank flank. On one such page, I found a long list of activities, all marked with a large ‘X’ aside from the one at the bottom, fishing. They must have been down at the lake.

When I reached the lake, I indeed found the group all along the shore, four fishing rods sitting before them. Of the Crusaders only Scootaloo was still watching her rod, Sweetie Belle appeared to have fallen asleep. Apple Bloom was not even bothering to pay attention to hers, pacing back and forth underneath a nearby tree with a little scowl on her face. For his part Sable was sitting stone still, from a distance I could almost mistake him for one, watching the water as if in a trance.

“How’s everything going out here?” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo startled. When I approached, Sable turned ever so slowly, exaggeratedly, to face her and blinked as slowly as he possibly could. I couldn’t stop myself and laughed. The sound rattled Sweetie Belle awake.

“A fisher, I am not.” Sable stood and stretched his legs and wings; he must have been sitting there for a while. I wondered if his wings responded so naturally because the spell reads his body language or if he did it manually to look natural.

“Or an alchemist.”

“Or a carpenter.”

“Or a songwriter.”

“Or sculptor, baker, calligrapher, cartographer, acrobat, dancer, or half a hundred other things I don’t even remember anymore.”

“I don’t know what to say, Twilight. We’ve been at it all day, and we aren’t any closer to figuring it out.” Scootaloo pouted.

“And here I thought we were getting better at this.” Sweetie Belle let her gaze fall to the ground.

“I’m starting to think we might be out of our depth here.” Apple Bloom stomped a tiny hoof in agitation. “I mean, he’s been looking for his mark for longer than we’ve been alive! How are we supposed to find it in a day?”

“Don’t get downhearted, girls. I told you this would be a special case.” I sighed. “I didn’t honestly think you were going to find it today.” The Crusaders all shared another concerned glance at my words.

“The reasoning is simple.” Sable walked over from where he was collecting the fishing rods, and he deposited them in a pile nearby. “Exactly what you said.” He used one wing to tap Apple Bloom’s side, indicating what she had said. “I suspect I have tried most of these things in the past myself.” He must have already explained his missing history to them. This did nothing to reassure the Crusaders much. “Thank you for the effort, but I think I’ve had enough for one day anyway.” With this said he turned and headed away.

“Well, think about it some more. Maybe you can come up with something he hasn’t tried yet.” I waved goodbye and followed after Sable. We didn’t get far before Scootaloo ran up to the dark purple unicorn.

“Um, Mr. Stardust?” He paused, looking down at the little pegasus. “You said you made those wings using a spell right?” He nodded. “I don’t suppose… you would do that for me, would you?”

“Why?” He tilted his head. “You already have wings.” Scootaloo pawed at the ground, unwilling to meet him eye to eye.

“My wings are stunted.” She bit her lip and scrunched her face. “I can’t fly.” I looked at Sable, wondering what thoughts were going through his head. Surely he could see the similarity to himself, a pony unable to do something which comes so naturally to others. “Please?” The little pegasus let her eyes beg. A long moment passed, I expected him to start casting. His expression shifted from compassion to something harder, and then back to sympathy. Until at last, he had an answer for her.

“No.”

“Why not?” Scootaloo and I complained as one.

“Two reasons. Firstly.” He walked over to a tree and snapped his wing open, crashing it against the trunk and shattering the glass spell. “These wings are very fragile. And secondly.” He picked up Scootaloo with his magic, and with a flick of his head, flung her out over the lake in a long arc. The little pegasus screamed, the other two Crusaders shouted her name. Before the filly hit the water, I snatched her out of the air, teleporting her back to dry stable land. She was a little surprised but uninjured.

“What was that for?” I rounded on Sable angrily. “You could have hurt her!” He met my angry gaze calmly with his own. The other two Crusaders rushed to Scootaloo’s side.

“And that is why I will not give her wings.” My anger faded as I quickly came to understand. He stepped over to the filly and her friends. “If Twilight had not caught you, you would have gotten wet. An inconvenience, at most.” He shifted his gaze to the little white unicorn. “Sweetie Belle is not quick enough or skilled enough to have caught you, or she would have. If you had been flying using my spell and so much as clipped a wing on a branch you would have fallen, uncontrolled. Possibly into hazardous terrain. If you had been high enough in the air, you could be seriously injured. I will not be responsible for putting you in harm's way in such a manner.”

“What about you? You take that risk every time you go into the air don’t you?” Apple Bloom, defiantly standing between them, tried to turn his reasoning against him. I knew he had a retort for this as well.

“You are correct, I do. But I am quick enough and skilled enough. And even if I were not, it is my choice to use the spell.” He turned his neon blue eyes on me. “I am not asking another to take responsibility for my own wellbeing away from me.” His eyes went back to the little pegasus, who appeared nearly in tears. “Don’t cry just yet.” He lowered his head until his eyes were level with hers. “You are still young, in time your wings might grow in. There are still other ways to fly, Be hopeful.” Now he stood back to full height, nodding deeply to her. “Farewell, little pegasus.” With more finality, he turned and headed away.

I looked down at the Crusaders, moving to comfort Scootaloo. The little pegasus was watching the unicorn leave, somewhere between dismayed and disappointed. I pat them each on the head and then went to follow Sable.

“That was a little harsh, don’t you think?”

“If you really want to, you could go back and give her wings yourself.” He glanced at me out the corner of his eye. “I know, for a fact, you can cast the spell.” I almost did. “You’ve seen how energetic the little filly can be. Do you really think she won’t go too far, push herself too fast?”

“You’re right. She’s not ready.”

“Not yet.” He nodded. “Although… there might be a way to make it safer… I’ll have to think about it.” He was silent, deep in thought, the rest of the way back to town.

* * *

_“I thought you weren’t going to give us much ‘slice of life’?”_

_“Well, I was thinking about how Starlight mentioned them this morning, and wanted to let you know how it went when he did go see them.”_

_“It was also nice to hear that he does still have other friends.”_

_“To be honest, you’re not the only one who thought he didn’t have any. The thought had crossed my mind too.”_

_“What about the letters? Did he have any more waiting for him?”_

_“I think so, I later saw him with several. I’ve only got one more unresolved plot thread to cover, and then we’ll get back to the conflict with Despair.”_

* * *

Sable went to speak with all my friends to let them know he was back, Pinkie Pie tried to throw a party to celebrate his return, but Sable talked her down to just a cake. Despite me encouraging him to go back, he avoided returning to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, perhaps his experience with them had convinced him he was initially right that they weren’t experienced enough to help him yet. The next few days, and then weeks, passed without incident.

Today I found Sable in the library again, reading, several open books before him on a variety of topics from geology to homeopathic medicine. A loose scroll parchment nearby was covered in a long series of magical equations I couldn’t see well enough to read correctly, at least a few revolved around flight magic. Maybe he was working on improvements to his wing spell?

“So what are you up to in here?”

“Did you know cast iron has a melting point between eleven hundred fifty and twelve hundred degrees Celsius?” He didn’t take his eyes off the open book.

“Not off the top of my head. Is that important?”

“No. It just happened to be the last thing I read before you walked in.” He closed the book, on metallurgy, and set it on the table with the others. “Do you require my assistance?”

“Not today. I wanted to tell you I think you need to go talk to Zecora.”

“Zecora?” His eyes flickered quickly back and forth as if reading a page, searching for her name in his mind. “The Zebra alchemist?”

“Yeah. In all the chaos when Despair showed up, I never got the chance to tell you I talked to her, and she volunteered to make you a potion that might be able to restore your memory.”

“I would be remiss if I did not remind you about the last time we messed with my past.” He spoke flatly, despite referring to his misadventure in Pinewood.

“Then you should go see her and tell her you aren’t interested; it’s still your choice.” I had another flash of inspiration. “Remember Wave Dasher and Ruby Song? How many others have you affected throughout your life that you don’t remember now?” He stalked to the window, suddenly unwilling to look at me.

“How many have I disappointed, damaged, or hurt?” Neon blue eyes in the window turned towards her, I met the reflection.

“I was thinking of how many friends you made, how many couples you introduced to each other, how many you’ve helped in one way or another.” With a huff he closed the curtains, cutting off our reflection. “That number is at least one. Are you really so sure there aren’t more?” Then I recalled something he said to me when we spoke at his hovel. “I think there are others, probably more than one.” His ears swiveled towards me, but he did not look back. “You told me I was the fourth to say I could help you. Even assuming one of those was Sereina.” He flinched at her name, wings clinking. “And Wave Dasher another, that still leaves at least one more who said they were willing to try and help. They didn’t abandon you, do you want to abandon them?” A moment passed before he spoke again.

“You don’t give up, do you?” For an instant, we were standing atop the hill in the park with the stars glimmering above.

“Never.”

“One of these days I’ll finally best you in these conversations of ours.” He glanced back over his shoulder. “But not today.” Now he turned back towards me. “If you would, then, please tell me where I can meet Zecora?”

“I can do better than that.” I gestured for him to follow. “I can take you there. Come on.” He followed without complaint. Unlike when we went to meet the Crusaders we did not meet any pony from Sable’s past. When we entered the Everfree Forest, I asked him about something that had confused me for a while now. “So, out of pure curiosity, where did you get that potion you used to heal the willow?”

“Not from Zecora if that’s what you mean.” The thought had crossed my mind. “I found the recipe in some book and brewed it myself.”

“It turned out really good.”

“Yeah, on my fifth try.” He huffed in irritation. “If you go into the Forest out behind my old hovel and look around a bit you will find some rather… let us call them less successful attempts.” I giggled. A while later we arrived at Zecora’s home. I was about to knock when Sable gently stopped me and did so himself. When I shot him a confused glance, he explained. “I can’t let you do everything for me.” He must have been referring to his hesitation dealing with new ponies. A moment later and the Zebra opened the door.

“Twilight Sparkle, ah hello. And a pony I do not know.” Sable’s ears flicked, and he tilted his head. When he did not introduce himself, I took the initiative.

“Hello Zecora, this is Sable Stardust.” I gestured to the unicorn next to me with a wingtip.

“Welcome, Stardust.” The zebra nodded. “Come for aid, I trust?” His ears flicked again.

“Yes… I believe Twilight Sparkle told you of my condition.” Sable tapped the side of his head.

“The pony with the lost past? Come to see me at long last.” Zecora nodded and invited us in, stepping away from the door. As he passed, he gave me a curious glance, for a moment I spotted a sly smirk.

“Many indeed are my trials.” He quickly glanced around the room. “A solution found, perhaps, in your vials.” I blinked, was that intentional?

“I told your friend of the challenge involved.” Zecora pointed to me. “My message from then may have evolved. A potion can be made it’s true. But not without much risk to you.”

“You think there will be pain? Enough to warrant what I might gain?” That one had to be on purpose.

“That I cannot say for sure. Peace of mind I cannot ensure.” Zecora’s voice dropped lower, to impart the seriousness of her next words. “It is of a greater risk I speak. More damage to your mind it could wreak.”

“More danger I do not dread.” He paused, searching for words, and then tapped his head again. “Already a tapestry undone by pulled thread.” I stifled a giggle, despite the tone of the conversation I found it amusing Sable was trying to match Zecora in rhyming. The Zebra nodded sagely and went to examine her supplies.

“I will gather the materials I need. Time I require to ensure that I succeed. Two days and a night. To assure I get it right.”

“Will you require my aid? How is my debt to be paid?”

“On a task of this challenge, I will work alone. I do not wish an injury for which I would have to atone.”

“This I understand. I will not force your hand.” He turned his attention to me. “Maybe now my story can come full circle.” He paused again, longer than before, searching for a further response. “Yeah, I’ve got nothing for that.” The zebra laughed, and at last, I could let my own free.

“You do not need to always rhyme.” Zecora smirked. “Mastery in the skill takes time.”

“From such an interesting challenge I will not run. Or else, where would be the fun?” Sable gave her an exaggerated bow using his wings, flaring them out wide and low. “When you are ready, I will return.” Despite room for another rhyme he turned and left, his smile still on his face. I held back to speak for a minute longer with the Zebra.

“Thank you again, Zecora. This may really help him.”

“Don’t thank me yet, Twilight. Everything has yet to turn out alright.” The Zebra walked over to the window and looked out at the unicorn, now waiting for me to join him outside. “I am not sure Stardust truly understands what may happen should we fail. If the worst were to occur it would leave him nothing more than a shade quite pale.”

“I appreciate the concern, really I do. But Sable has faced this kind of risk before. He overcame it before, and he can again if he has to.” Zecora frowned for a moment and then shrugged.

“Of your friend, there is little I know. Your faith is all I need, so off you go.”

* * *

_“So how did that go, with the potion?”_

_“Unfortunately, we’ll never know. My story ends before she finished it. Besides, he got all his memories back in… another way.”_

_“Spoilers much?”_

_“Oh, we all knew that was going to happen one way or another.”_

_“But… how does he get them back? What happened then?”_

* * *

“So how did it go with Zecora?” When we returned to the castle, we found Spike waiting for us in the map room, a stack of letters in front of him.

“Pretty well. She’s already working on a potion for Sable.”

“It should be done in a couple of days. I did not expect there would be such delays.”

“You’re doing it again.” I giggled.

“So I am.” He responded with a smile. “Would you rather I shut like a clam?” He was rhyming ever since we left Zecora’s. Frequently poorly.

“Uh…?” Spike pointed a thumb towards Sable, confusion apparent.

“Don’t mind me, Spike, I’m just being silly.” Sable rolled his eyes. With a little more spring in his step, he headed towards the stairs. “I’ll be in the library if you need me.” Without warning Spike hiccuped and coughed, a flash of green flame emerged from his mouth, and resolved into a scroll. Startled, Sable glanced back. “I was not aware he could do that.” I caught the scroll as Spike beat his chest. The seal was intimately familiar. It had been a while since the princesses needed to use this method to reach me.

“It’s a message from Princess Celestia.” The message unrolled, it didn’t take me long to read it. The news was bad. He must have seen my concern on my face, as Sable returned with a worried expression.

“Something wrong?”

“We need to go to Canterlot, immediately. There’s been an incident.”

“We?”

“They want you to come too. It doesn’t say why.”

“How do they even know about me?”

“I correspond with Celestia fairly regularly. I may have mentioned you a few times.” I set the letter aside, turning to my assistant. “Sorry, Spike. I’m going to have to ask you to keep working without me for a while longer.”

“It's a royal summons; I’m OK with it.” The little dragon gave me a thumbs up.

“Let’s go, Sable.”

“Right behind you.” Together we ran to the station, just in time to catch the train heading to the capital. Once seated he returned to the earlier conversation. “Why did you mention me in your letters to them?”

“Because you’ve been a part of my life for a few months, I’m not going to leave that out. That, and when I reported to them about our encounter with Despair, I wasn’t going to leave out what he said about you.”

“Do you think this could involve him?”

“It wouldn’t surprise me. We haven’t heard anything about him since we beat him at the lake.”

“I was hoping it would remain that way.”

“Frankly, so was I. We’ll know more once we see the Princesses.” Silence fell between us; the only sounds the clicking of the wheels over the tracks and the quiet conversations of the other passengers. I caught him watching me several times on the ride, I’d seen the thoughtful expression on his face before and knew I wouldn’t be able to easily pull him into a conversation about whatever he was thinking about.

After a while, the whistle pierced the air, and the train screeched to a halt in the capital city. After disembarking, Sable took a moment to stare at the city, the tall spires and gleaming walls reflecting in his eyes. It was obvious he was impressed, the architecture was quite beautiful if smooth marble and dark colors were your thing. He may also have been remembering the last time he was here, taking the entrance exam for Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns.

We wound our way through the crowds, heading towards the palace. As I looked about, I noted that there were more guards than usual on the street. Many of them glanced around suspiciously. I hadn’t seen the capital this heavily guarded since just before the changelings invaded Shining Armor’s and Cadence’s wedding. Despite the increased security, the city was as lively as ever, whatever had the guards on edge didn’t bother the regular populace.

Without taking time to explore the city it didn’t take long to reach the palace gates. Unusually for this time of day, they were closed to the public. The situation must have had the Princesses really worried. The guards at the gatehouse recognized me on sight and allow me entry. They stared somewhat suspiciously at Sable but did not block his way. Sable, for his part, glanced around at the architecture and the beauty of the building; I couldn’t tell if he’d noticed the heightened security. We were ushered into the throne room, where we found Princesses Celestia and Luna in conversation with several city administrators and a guardspegasus. Celestia spotted us entering the chamber and then looked down at the smaller ponies around her.

“I thank you for your patience, but that will be all for now.” The guardspegasus escorted the administrators out of the room and shut the door behind them, leaving the Princesses alone with Sable and me. “It’s good to see you again, Twilight.” Her voice was calm, but I recognized the worry behind it.

“I came as soon as I got your message. What’s happened?”

“In a moment.” The taller of the Alicorns faced Sable, who bowed deeply, flaring his black glass wings to side as he did. “You must be Sable Stardust. I regret that we must meet in such circumstances.”

“How may I be of assistance, your majesties?”

“Tartarus has been attacked.” Luna stepped forward and got right to the point. Sable's eyes went to her and opened wider.

“Oh no! Did anything escape? Is Tirek still secure?” Celestia held up a hoof to hold back my questions.

“The prison is still secure. Tirek and the other prisoners remain where they should be.”

“Oh, good.” I let out a held breath, my pulse already steadying.

“I don’t understand, if the prison is secure, why have we been called here?” Sable shook his gaze away from Princess Luna.

“We do not believe the attack was intended to release the prisoners.” Luna continued the briefing. “By the time the guards were able to chase away the lone assailant he had plenty of time to break out any of the prisoners had they so chosen, yet he did not.”

“A single attacker? How did they get past Cerberus?” I thought back to the other times' creatures had escaped Tartarus. The only truly notable moment was when Cerberus, the huge three-headed dog, wandered away and the centaur Tirek was able to slip out unnoticed. Security at the prison was tightened after the incident to make that more difficult. Tirek’s later assault on Equestria was probably its most desperate hour; even Discord was defeated by him.

“We still don’t know how they were able to bypass the defenses.”

“According to the warden’s logs, a single guard failed to report to duty the day before. He was later found at his home, encased within a crystal. He was alive, but his mind was badly damaged. He is still recovering.” I turned from Celestia to Sable, who met my eyes.

“Despair.”

“Nearly certainly.” He nodded, frowning.

“That is what we believe as well.” Luna spoke again. “You are the only ponies to have had interactions with this new threat. What can you tell us about him?”

“Unfortunately, not much more than what Twilight has reported to you in her letters. My only so-called ‘interaction’ with him was when I found him trying to steal the Alicorn Amulet from the Castle of Friendship.”

“He did not speak to you?”

“No. He was more concerned with trying to kill me.”

“Twilight, you said in your letter that Despair told you he knew Sable Stardust. Can you explain this?”

“I can only tell you what he told me.” I glanced at Sable, who nodded, this was no time for secrets. “He said he knew Sable more than any pony ever could, and that he knew what Sable had done to his family.” Thankfully they did not press on that issue, I had forgiven him, but they might be less merciful for manipulating the minds of the villagers of Pinewood.

“He did not elaborate?”

“No, he didn’t. I think he was trying to taunt us, get us off balance.” Then again everything else he said had been the truth, now that I thought about it. Celestia returned her attention to Sable, narrowing her eyes.

“You still say you know nothing of this dangerous unicorn?”

“I apologize. But my memory, most of my personal history, has been lost to me. If I once knew this pony, I do not anymore.” Sable frowned again. “If I may ask, what do you think Despair was after when he attacked Tartarus? You said you didn’t believe he was there to free any prisoner.” Luna and Celestia shared a glance and looked together at me.

“You trust this unicorn?” Luna gestured to Sable, who had the decency not to look offended, he remained stoic. Although when he wanted he could be hard to read, I’d seen him control his emotions carefully before.

“Yes. I do.” I didn’t hesitate. Sable closed his eyes when I vouched for him, smiling softly.

“Very well. When the guards found the assailant, he was standing before Tirek’s prison.” For some reason I found this profoundly worrying, my stomach became a pit. “The centaur was laughing when the guards chased the attacker away. When I interrogated him, he was tight-lipped on details.”

“He didn’t say anything helpful?”

“He did say one thing, which worries us greatly.” Celestia spoke. “He said that ash and sorrow were coming and that we would be powerless to stop it.”

“Sounds like an empty threat to me. He was trying to rattle you, and it seems to have worked.”

“There is… something else.” Luna hesitated. Celestia nodded towards her, encouraging her to be open with this information. The sisters had clearly been speaking on this subject before. “For several weeks now I have felt something strange in the night air. It has been difficult to place, but I feel as though something is coming. There is a… dark sign… of some kind on the horizon.”

“Metaphorical, I assume.” Luna nodded, confirming Sable’s interjection.

“If it were just the one thing, I could dismiss it.” The Alicorn with the midnight mane shook her head. “But this premonition I have felt, along with Tirek’s assertion, is too much to just ignore given the risks that Despair is willing to take.” Sable stepped away, looking southward out the windows. I could see him casting his tracking spell, ensuring the Alicorn Amulet was still hidden within the anti-magic aura of the changeling throne. From where I stood I couldn’t see the little arrow, but he turned back and nodded confidently a moment later.

“The Amulet is still hidden. Good.” I began to pace, trying to figure out what Despair was up to. “He’s gotten bolder. First, he attacked Starlight and the Crystal Empire, but he kept to the shadows, and no pony got a good look at him. Then he stole the Alicorn Amulet from under our noses, and the changeling throne, right beside the hive. Now he’s gone after Tartarus and Tirek with an all-out assault. I don’t get it.”

“There is something all these have in common. At one time or another, they have all been existential threats to Equestria.”

“Luna is correct.” Celestia spoke again. “Your report said that Despair is capable of stealing memories. Could he be gathering information on all these attacks?”

“To what end?”

“Equestria will face despair.” We turned to face Sable. “That’s what he said before he escaped from Twilight.” He dropped his gaze to the floor, frowning deeply. “This may be worse than we thought.”

“What do you mean?”

“Can I assume Twilight has told you of my… accident?”

“That you lost your memory when you failed a spell? Yes.”

“That was not just any spell. When I entered the castle that day, I did not know it. Then I assaulted Starlight Glimmer, and used my memory magic to steal the spell from her mind.” Celestia and Luna both gasped and turn on me, I cringed, I had not, in fact, told them this detail. “Despair has shown he knows several of the spells I do, perhaps we learned them together, I cannot be sure. But if I can steal a spell and not just memories, what could he have taken?”

“Oh no.” The pit in my stomach grew to encompass my heart. “Starlight has powerful Cutie-mark magic; she can switch or even remove them.” Celestia’s face matched my own fear.

“And Tirek knows powers that can steal magic from Ponies to grow his own.”

“Despair is not just gathering information. He’s collecting the most powerful and dangerous magic in the world.” Heavy silence fell as we each considered the ramifications of Luna’s revelation.

“Princesses, you should immediately send a detachment of guards to Pinewood Village.” It was Sable who broke the silence first. “There is a lake to the northwest of the village where the Amulet is hidden.” He needn’t have bothered saying anything; Luna was already moving to the door to call for the captain of the guard.

“As dangerous as Despair is now, if he gets his hooves on that he will be an order of magnitude worse.” I felt a hoof on my shoulder; Sable was shaking again, real fear on his face as it was when we found his parents.

“I just realized. Starlight’s time travel spell, he could have taken it too.”

“That spell requires the friendship map to work.” Too late I understood his fear.

“We just left it undefended.”

“Celestia!” I snapped to face the tall Alicorn with the pastel rainbow mane. “Send a message to Spike, right now! Tell him to find Starlight Glimmer, and have her guard the map! She’s the only one there who could fight Despair on even terms if he attacked.” Celestia nodded and headed away. “Sable, we should head back to Ponyville as soon as we can.”

“I agree, but I feel I should say we still don’t know what he is planning, or where he is going. These preparations mean nothing if we cannot chase him down. We’ll be forever on edge, watching for shadows around every corner.”

“Unfortunately.” Luna returned from the door. “We do not know these things. We can only take what precautions we are able to. We will also have a detachment of guards sent to Ponyville to protect the map table and the Elements of Harmony.”

“Do you think that’s necessary? The Elements are safely within the tree of harmony, and even if he could take them, he can’t use them.”

“At this point, I believe no precaution we could take is too extreme.” Celestia returned, a scroll vanishing out of sight as she messaged Spike. “I wish we could do more as it is.” The tallest Alicorn went to the window, looking out over her city of Canterlot and then north towards the Crystal Empire. “I will have Cadence warned as well. Despair might make another attempt on the Crystal Empire. Then we will begin searching for him in earnest. He must be found. This is no longer tolerable.” She stood tall as she came back to face us, at her most regal and authoritative. “Twilight, I want you and Sable to go back to Ponyville, defend the map, search your library for spells we can use to track him, create your own if you need to. I will do the same here.”

“During the night I will search the dreamworld for him. If he dreams, I will find him. Perhaps I will glean some trace of his plan, if not his location.” The main door opened, and several guardsponies entered. I turned toward the door and headed away, Sable bowed again to the sister Alicorns and followed. When we left the throne room, I heard hoofsteps approach from within. “Twilight, wait a moment.” Luna partially emerged from the throne room. “There’s something else I need to talk to you about.”

“Can it wait? We need to get to the station.”

“It will only take a few minutes.” I nodded, and we both turned back to face her. Princess Luna stepped out from behind the throne room doors and glanced at Sable somewhat apprehensively. “It is a… personal matter.”

“I will wait for Twilight at the train station.” Sable gave her his respectful bow and headed away.

“So, how can I help?” At my question Luna gestured to the side and led me away from the throne room, to somewhere a bit more private, as more guardsponies arrived.

“I am loathe to betray the privacy of another pony’s dreams, but I think you should know.” She stopped by a window, overlooking the palace courtyard, I spotted the figure in the black coat of Sable moving towards the city. Luna gestured to him. “That unicorn, Sable Stardust, I have had to visit his dreams quite often as of late.” Some part of my mind was not surprised.

“Why did you send him away? Shouldn’t you speak with him yourself?”

“I repeatedly have, in his dreams, he does not seem to remember our conversations. I want to bring this to your attention because his dreams feature you prominently.” I felt my face flush, and I sidestepped away from the princess of the night. Luna giggled at her. “Not like that.” Her voice dropped, the mirth disappearing. “No, this is darker. In his nightmares, he often sees you or one of your friends, sometimes his parents, and sometimes even himself injured or worse. Sometimes it is because he fears he has done it himself. And sometimes he is alone, in a pit of unrelenting darkness even I cannot reach through.”

“I still don’t understand. Can’t you help him?”

“I banish the nightmares, and I help when I can. But his dreams are not getting better. They are getting worse.” She paused to let that sink in. “Last night his dream saw not just you, but all your friends and his parents, dead because of him.” I recalled how he was just earlier today, cracking jokes and bad puns on the way back from Zecora’s. He seemed happy enough.

‘I know what that despair did to him, what it is still doing to him.’ The thief said that at the lake. I remembered the look in Sable’s eyes the moment he broke my grasp in the air above his childhood home. He had been so sorry, so ashamed, so lost, so… broken.

“He needs your help, Twilight. He’s afraid, terrified that he will let everypony down, that he will do something horrible to you. I’ve told him he was better than that, that he can trust you, that he can trust himself. Nothing works.” I could see Sable standing on the hill that night in Ponyville park. ‘You think just talking about it will make everything turn out for the better?’ Disbelief in his eyes.

“I’ve been trying to help him for months now.” I looked up into the eyes of the other Alicorn. “I thought he was getting better, I really did.” Sable’s words to Fluttershy back at the changeling hive came to me. “It’s all a mask.” He really had given up, hadn’t he? Now Despair’s charred face and ashen voice laughed at her. “His own despair will kill him.”

“I fear that may happen.” Luna nodded sadly. “I don’t know how to help him anymore.” I let my gaze fall back to the city outside, so blissfully unaware of the threat. I had no flash of realization, but I knew what Stardust would say.

“Don’t save me, save Equestria.”

“What?” Luna’s shock brought me back to my senses. I blinked, I hadn’t realized I said it out loud.

“That’s what he would say. He wouldn’t want us wasting our time trying to save one pony, not when Equestria itself may be at stake. Even if it was himself.” Maybe especially because it was him, I didn’t say that aloud. “Thank you, Luna, for telling me. But I think he’d be right, at least for the moment.” Now it was Luna’s turn to blink in confusion. “We have to concentrate on the threat of Despair.” I joined Spike in wishing Sable has chosen a name a bit less dramatic. Or perhaps his choice was even more apt than I thought. “We weren’t going to find a solution right now anyways. Maybe now that I know, I’ll figure something out.” I turned away, sullenly, and started out towards the station.

“Twilight, don’t give up on him. It is never a waste to save even a single pony.” Luna called out one last time before I got out of earshot. “Your friendship has saved our world before; you can save him from himself.”

Slowly I made my way to the station, lost in thought. I’d watched him for months; I thought I knew him. He even said I could read him like an open book. How much of the hope I saw in him was a lie? How could I save him? It wasn’t all that long ago he said ‘I am not asking another to take responsibility for my own wellbeing away from me.’ Would he even let me?

A train whistle split the air ahead of me; it must have been the train arriving at the station. I had to break into a gallop to reach it in time; I had been walking so slowly I almost missed it. Sable was waiting for me by the open passenger car door, twin tickets at the ready. He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head curiously when he saw my expression.

“Was Luna’s concern so severe?” I had no answer for him as we took our seats, for once it was me who couldn’t bring myself to meet his eyes. “Well, OK then.” He looked out the window as the train moved, watching the city of Canterlot vanish behind the mountain. The ride back to Ponyville was spent with silence between the two of us.

* * *

_“He is just relentlessly depressing, isn’t he?”_

_“From what you’ve been telling us, it really did sound like he was getting better.”_

_“It never occurred to me that he had years and years of experience hiding his real feelings. His sorrows were hidden behind layered masks, and I couldn’t see through them all.”_

_“It’s alright Twilight. You did the best you could. You cannot be completely responsible for his happiness.”_

_“I know. But that doesn’t make me feel any better. I failed him.”_

* * *

That night Sable, Starlight, and I all spent in the library searching my books for spells which might be used to track down Despair. Even far into the night, we came up empty. My mind wasn’t on the task; I kept finding myself thinking about Sable and what Luna had told me.

“I think I found something.” Starlight spoke up, drawing our attention. She put her book on the table, atop an unruly pile of others, and pointed to the open page. “This spell lets you know the location of a marked object.” I read over the magic and quickly spotted the flaw in Starlight’s plan.

“But we would have to mark him first; he would have to be right here. If we could do that we wouldn’t need the spell at all.” Starlight blinked and rubbed her eyes, rereading the spell again.

“Drats. I’m sorry, I read that wrong.”

“But maybe… Sable.” His ears perked up, and he looked down from the ladder he was standing on. “Do you think your messenger bird spell could find him?”

“I doubt it; I need the name of the target for it to work.”

“Let me give it a try anyway.” I quickly wrote a word onto an empty scroll and folded it into a bird shape before concentrating a moment. My magic aura engulfed the origami swan. If it worked, we could track the messenger right to Despair. “Find Despair, deliver this message.” My voice echoed inside itself, and the bird animated. It flew into the air and circled the room twice before landing on Sable’s horn to sit there like a big butterfly.

“Well, that didn’t work.” He shook his head, but only managed to get the messenger to flip over and hang down in front of his eyes. I couldn’t help but giggle, despite his frown. I snatched it from its perch and let Sable take it, allowing it to unfold and return to its inanimate state.

“I’m sorry Twilight. I really thought that would be more help.” Starlight yawned, blinking bleary eyes. “I’m useless like this; I’m dead tired. We can come back to it in the morning.” The thought of my own warm and soft bed was certainly appealing.

“You two go ahead.” Sable pulled down the next book from the shelf he was searching. If exhaustion bit at his heels he didn’t show it, although he was quite used to staying up later than most. “I’ll keep at this for a while longer.” Starlight needed no further encouragement and headed away without fanfare. I almost did the same but hesitated at the door. I closed my eyes, listening to the sound of the pages in Sable’s book turning. Then I looked back at him, alone in the library, and recalled my conversation with Luna.

“Can we talk?”

“Sure. What do you need?” He didn’t stop reading. I glanced around the room, at the stacks of tomes and shelves crowded with books, and found it suddenly claustrophobic.

“It’s a bit stuffy in here, how about we get some air?” Pages stopped turning, and he looked up, curious. The book snapped shut, and he jumped from the ladder, using his wings to glide down until he landed somewhat heavily in front of me. He frowned at his hard landing but then followed me to the castle’s balcony.

Despite the dim light, I could see a pair of guards patrolling down on the ground, some tents for the regiment had been set up not far away. They arrived not long before dusk to guard the castle. A light fog had begun to settle on Ponyville.

I held my head up to feel the wind blow, breathing deeply. The night air was cold, possibly colder than it should have been, or was it just my sense of dread playing tricks on me?

When I looked over at Sable, standing nearby at the railing with one eye locked on me, I didn’t know what to say. What could I say, what hadn’t I said before? All my conversations came back, time and again Fluttershy or I had told him he wasn’t alone anymore. Even if not in those exact words. With nothing to say, I could only stand there, just out of reach, as the silence grew thick between us.

“You said you wanted to talk?” Eventually, he broke the stillness. I still had no words for him; I could barely even bring myself to look at him. “If you have nothing to say, I should get back to work.” Maybe I was overthinking it; it wasn’t about words. I threw both arms around Sable and held him tight as he turned to leave. I could feel him try to jerk reflexively away, but I only held him tighter. “What’s this about?”

“Don’t give up.” I had to whisper it in his ear.

“I just said I was going to keep looking, don’t make me repeat myself.”

“It’s not about the spells. You know what I mean.” In my arms I felt him tense, I wouldn’t have been able to see it happen, his black coat would have hidden it from me.

“I’m still searching for my mark. You know that.” He was dodging the topic again.

“It’s not even about your mark. It’s about you.” It was subtle, but I could feel him start to shake. He took a deep breath, holding it in while the shaking stopped.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” Now I wrapped my wings around him too, the only way he could pull away now would have been teleportation.

“That’s a lie, and you know it.” He started to quake again. For perhaps the first time since I went to see him after we discovered his secret, I began to feel as though his mask was cracking. “Luna told me she’s been visiting you in your nightmares.”

“So that's why she seemed so familiar…”

“Don’t change the subject.” Weakly he tried to laugh. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“…I don’t know.” I squeezed just a little more. “That’s the truth. I don’t.” He dropped his haunches to the floor, no longer even trying to pull away. “What would I have said? Oh gee, thanks for trying, but I only feel worse?” He paused. “Can you let me go now?”

“Not if you run.”

“I won’t. There’s no point. Not anymore.” Slowly, hesitantly, I let him out of my wings and arms. He did move away, but only to take a seat at the railing, putting his front hooves on the banister and looking up into the star-filled sky. I sat down beside him, well within arm’s reach. “No more secrets.”

“I thought you were getting better. When you came back from your family, you seemed so much stronger.”

“At first, so did I. The only good part of being at the bottom of a pit is that you can only go up from there.” He crossed his arms and let his head rest on them. “I don’t know if I can really explain it.” He paused, I could see him trying to find the right words. “When I look at them, and you and Fluttershy, I see what I did, what I can do, what I could do again.”

“But you won’t.”

“But I know I could.” He turned his eyes to face me. “What would you do at your worst moment?” His voice was quiet, thoughtful. “When all your hopes and dreams died around you, and there was nothing you could do to save them?”

“I… don’t know.”

“I do.” He nodded sadly. “I’ve been there. At that moment where I gave up, when I felt there was nothing left to lose.” He scowled, disgusted. “I _violated_ them; I violated myself. I could do it again.”

“You’ve been there again, twice.”

“I know.” He nodded again. “My actions when you dispelled the curse at Pinewood. Before that, my attempt at the map. I’ve seen what I would be willing to do when pushed far beyond the limits of my sanity.” He looked away from her. “I almost… I almost killed you.”

“But you didn’t. You came back.”

“You could have saved yourself.” He paused again, glancing my way out of the corner of his eyes. “You should have saved yourself.”

“I was saving you.”

“By nearly letting me kill you?”

“I knew you wouldn’t let me get hurt.”

“Taking a terrible risk in the process.”

“It was no risk at all, I know you.” This was starting to go in circles, time for a new tact. “We all have demons in our past. All of us, Starlight and Princess Luna most of all. We overcame them, so can you.” He had no immediate answer. It was several long quiet moments before he spoke again.

“You say you’ve all faced demons and overcome them?” He opened one wing, black glass and stars glittering, and smashed it against the railing. Tiny shards of glass flew away from him as the spell broke, dissolving in little flashes. “I faced mine, and shattered like that wing.” My heart sank, what I said was supposed to be inspiring. “So I’m weaker than even I thought.”

“You are not weak. You get up, every day, and face a world you aren’t comfortable in even knowing how hard it will be. You hold yourself steady when fear tries to break you, even when you could run. You consider the worst that could happen, and then resolve to prevent that outcome.” I draped one wing around him. “These are virtues and strengths. Not vices and weaknesses. Fluttershy told you as much that night in the hive; she could see these qualities in you too.”

“Then why?” He grasped at his heart, shutting his eyes as if in pain. “Why does it hurt to look at you, to see Fluttershy’s face in my mind?”

“Because you know who you are, you don’t want to hurt us, and you hope to be a better pony because of it.”

“Hope… is that what it is? Hope terrifies me.” With nothing else to say, he leaned forward until his horn rested on the railing. Tears dripped from his eyes onto the stone tiles. It took me a long time to find anything to say to that.

“Hope is a powerful feeling, and it’s true that power can be frightening.” He didn’t respond, didn’t even open his eyes. “Sable, look at me.” He turned away. “look at me.” My command had more force behind it this time, when he refused to respond again, I took his head by force and made him meet my gaze. “Hope is only at its most powerful when things are the bleakest. Take that hope, that power, and hold onto it. Grasp it with everything you have, and don’t let go. You lost everything, not only once, not just twice, but nearly three times and you still press on! Even when it’s all you have, you still have hope.”

He broke, collapsing against me, and for the first time he actually reached out to return an embrace. I let him cry, not sobbing aloud as he did for his parents, but quietly weeping until he nearly exhausted himself. Eventually, he drained his strength, and I had to carry him back to his bed. I covered him with the quilt his mother gave him and shut the door behind me to let him rest in peace, praying to Luna for his dreams to be quiet.


	8. The End of Equestria

_“Here I thought I was the drama queen!”_

_“Ha, I guess it was a bit much. I still wonder if it helped, in the end.”_

_“I can’t help but notice this story is going on for pretty much forever. At some point, you have to tell us how it all ends.”_

_“That’s just ahead.”_

_“Oh, are we getting close now?”_

_“Yeah, this is the last chapter. This is where we face Despair…”_

_“Twilight? Are you alright?”_

_“I’m sorry. It’s just this wasn’t that long ago for me. It still hurts…”_

_“Do you need to stop?”_

_“No, I need to finish this. I’ll feel better once I’ve told the story. No more secrets… Anyway, when I woke up…”_

* * *

I yawned and kicked myself out of bed, stretching all my limbs, I felt as though I had overslept. After last night’s rather intense conversation with Sable, I had gone right to bed. My dreams were strange, bizarre and confusing even by dream standards, but the details were lost to me now. I glanced out the window, expecting to see a bright sunny morning. The light coming in through the window was diffuse, grey and weak. There was a dense fog outside, although the guard tents outside were close enough to be seen clearly, I could barely see Ponyville. I frowned, the weather pegasi should have been keeping the sky clear of this kind of fog.

The castle was quiet, was I the first one up? Spike wasn’t down at breakfast, or the library, or the map room. Neither were Starlight or Sable. Stardust at least I expected to be sleeping in, especially after last night, but not the others. I knocked on Spike’s door, no answer. When I checked on Starlight, the door swung open, and the unicorn stumbled into the hall with her head hanging. She glanced up at me as she shambled by with heavy bags under her eyes. Her mane was a mess; she hasn’t cleaned herself up after waking.

“Starlight, is something wrong? You look terrible.”

“Hi, Twilight.” She sounded just as miserable as she looked. Very slowly Glimmer made her way to the stairs down but stopped at the top. “Too much work.” Then she turned around to go back to her room. She wasn’t even watching where she was going and bumped into me. “Hi, Twilight.” Glimmer’s stomach grumbled, she was apparently hungry.

“Aren’t you coming down for breakfast?”

“Too much work.” That wasn’t even a flimsy excuse.

“We still need your help for the spell to go after Despair.” Glimmer just grumbled wordlessly. “Come on.” She didn’t resist when I pushed her partway down the hall but made no effort to move on her own. “Did you get any sleep at all?”

“Lots. Just got up.”

“Oh come on! Get yourself in gear!” Glimmer continued to make no effort. So I simply lifted her bodily from the floor with magic and carried her down to the kitchen. To my surprise, Spike was there, a bowl of small gems in front of him. He seemed no better than Starlight and barely bothered to acknowledge my presence. I dropped Starlight at the table, and the unicorn tried to pull Spike’s meal towards her.

“That’s mine.” Despite complaining the little dragon made no real effort to defend his breakfast. I passed his bowl back to him, not sure why Starlight would bother taking Spike’s food at all; ponies can’t eat gemstones. Even with his bowl back, Spike didn’t do more than nibble on one mindlessly.

“What is wrong with you two?” I huffed in annoyance. Neither one responded, and Spike flat out fell face first into his breakfast. It would have been funny if it weren’t so pathetic. “Look, we need to get back to work, and you two need to shape up.” Spike waved weakly for me to go away. Starlight set her head on the table, refusing to put any effort into anything. “Fine, you two can just… fight over breakfast or whatever this is. I’ve got more important things to do than force feed you two.”

“Bye, Twilight.” Starlight mumbled to me as I left the room. I looked in on the map room again, and only then noted there were no guards there. That was strange; there were supposed to be at least two in here at all times. I checked the front door, the guards there had curled up at their posts in a state much like Starlight and Spike. One of them was sobbing quietly. Now I was worried, and looked around for other patrolling guards and found none where they should be. The encampment the guards set up was nearby, so I headed that way to ask the commander what was going on.

Unfortunately, the encampment was equally useless. Every pony, from the camp cook to the commander himself, were curled up in their cots or just dropped to the ground, many of them in tears. A few wandered aimlessly about the camp in a daze, responding only faintly when I pressed for information. This was serious. My eyes went to the town of Ponyville, barely visible through the dense fog.

The town wasn’t in any better shape. The shops were all closed, and no pony responded when I knocked on doors. The few ponies I found out and about refused to meet my eyes or told me to go away miserably. A panic set in on me, and I started to run from place to place, looking for somepony, anypony, who wasn’t unresponsive.

“Is there anypony out there who can hear me?” I shouted, begging for an answer. I received nothing in return. The stillness in the air was oppressive; there weren’t even any birds singing. As I spun, trying to see through the haze, I began to hope I was still dreaming. It had to be some terrible nightmare; surely this couldn’t be real.

Something flashed through the mist, a light in the distance. Was it an answer to my call? Or some new torment? The light faded, it was over in the direction of city hall. At least I thought it was, the dim light and the fog made it hard to tell which direction I was facing. The light flashed again, a soft glow for a moment before fading away. There must be somepony there, and I broke into a run. A third time the light shone, closer and stronger than before, and I spotted the familiar form of a pony wearing a long black coat.

“Sable! Is that you?” The figure turned to face me, resolving into the dark purple unicorn as I pushed through the haze. The light flashed, more brightly, from a spell he was trying to cast.

“Twilight?! Oh good, I was beginning to think I was alone out here.” His spell dissolved, and he shook his head.

“You’re alright? Please tell me this is all some nightmare.”

“If it is, it’s not one I’ve seen before. I found Starlight and Spike nearly catatonic in the kitchen, and you weren’t in your room.”

“I know, it's the same all throughout Ponyville. I don’t know what’s going on.” Panic seeped into my voice.

“Twilight, calm down. Take deep breaths; we can figure this out.” He glanced around, not finding whoever or whatever he was looking for.

“What were you doing out here?”

“Aside from looking for somepony not overcome by… whatever this is? I was trying to create an enchantment to push away this fog. It was supposed to use the same principles of the Crystal Heart, but it's not working.”

“You can do that?” I looked around; the situation did somewhat remind me of Despair’s attack on the Crystal Empire.

“Apparently not. It was a long shot anyway. What do we do now?”

“I don’t know, but we can’t sit here and do nothing. I’m going to check on Pinkie Pie and Applejack’s family. You should see if Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity are alright.”

“I’ll bring them back to the castle. It’ll be easier to keep an eye on them while we try to figure this out.”

“Good idea, I’ll do the same.” Sable nodded, we ran off without another word to each other. Sugarcube corner was dark, the colors of the town seemed more faded than they should have been, or was it just my mind playing more tricks on her? From within I heard a pony sobbing loudly. Was that a good thing or bad? I had to use magic to unlock the building, and found Pinkie Pie in her room, crying loudly. “Pinkie, are you alright?”

“Go away!” A stuffed animal was flung at me. My usually friendly and excitable pink friend was apparently just as affected by this as the rest of the town.

“Pinkie come on, we need you. Get up!”

“You’re just going to laugh at me!” Just like when Discord tried to turn us against each other. The thought it could be him doing it again passed through my mind, but I disregarded it, he had been reformed past this. Besides, this wasn’t his style; it was too subdued.

“I am not going to laugh at you, now stand up and come with me.” Pinkie shot upright, her mane which is usually goofy and fluffy had lost all its bounce and hung straight down. Tears streamed down her face even as she scowled at me.

“Admit it! You don’t like me! You think I’m just a waste of space, who never takes anything seriously!” Well, Sable might have thought it of her.

“That's not true, and you know it.” Pinkie burst back into loud sobs and dove back into her bed. I sighed, I didn’t have enough time to convince her to come along peacefully. I teleported the two of us outside, bed and all, hoping it would get her out from under the covers. When this plan failed I picked up Pinkie with my magic, dragging the wailing pony along as I galloped towards Sweet Apple Acres.

The farm was in no better state than Ponyville itself. Winona, the dog, didn’t bark when I approached, the dog barely even looked up from where she lay. Pinkie hadn’t stopped wailing yet, and to prevent a migraine I used magic to create a bubble of silence around the pink pony. When I tried to enter the house Pinkie snagged one of the kitchen table’s legs and refused to let go. With a heavy sigh, I left the pink pony there while I checked on Applejack and her family.

Granny Smith seemed the hardest hit, she just stared up at the ceiling from her bed, open-eyed and her face tear streaked. The elderly pony did not respond, but she was still breathing. I decided to leave her there where she was comfortable but made sure to close the door firmly.

Big Mac sobbed into his pillow, calling out for Sugar Belle, his marefriend. He seemed to think she had left him. With some prodding, I managed to convince him to follow me.

Apple Bloom I found standing upright in her room, staring back at her cutie-mark. The filly wondered aloud if she was worthy of her mark. Her failure to help sable must be weighing more heavily on her than I initially thought. It could also be that whatever was going on here was just bringing up the worst feelings in those it affected. Fortunately, the filly followed when commanded.

I didn’t find Applejack in her room. I had to look around for a bit to find her out in the orchard, kicking weakly at the trees.

“Applejack? Are you affected as well?” The orange pony glanced at me, dull-eyed and weary.

“So much to do.” She moved to another tree and kicked again, a grand total of a single apple fell to the ground with a dull thud. Even the trees seemed depressed. “So much to do.”

“You don’t have to do it now. Come along; we need you.” Applejack didn’t respond to me, moving to the next tree in the line.

“So much to do, have to do it alone.”

“No, you don’t. We’re here for you, but right now I need you to follow me.”

“So much to do.” She wasn’t listening to me, lost in some fugue state.

“Applejack, listen to me.” I tried something else. “I need you to fix the door to the map room, back at the castle. Only you can do it.” The command to help caused Applejack to twinge, turning towards me. Once this was fixed, I would have apologize to her for lying.

“So much to do.” The orange pony stumbled slowly off in the direction of the castle, at least she was moving. I returned to the farmhouse, where Pinkie still hadn’t let go of the table, wailing silently under the effect of my spell. Again I found I had to teleport Pinkie Pie outside before I could carry her back to the castle.

I brought the lot of them to the map room where I found Sable was already back with the other three. Rarity was languishing atop one of her drama couches, with at least two buckets of ice cream with her, and some unfinished dresses she seemed to have shredded. Rainbow Dash floated about the room, randomly bumping into the walls or pillars and turning around, only to bounce off a different wall and start again. Fluttershy gripped onto Sable’s leg like a vice, sobbing softly. Sable looked up from where he was sitting beside Fluttershy.

“You’re back, good.” He eyed the group of distressed ponies with her. He raised an eyebrow at Pinkie Pie’s silence.

“Trust me, it’s better this way. She’s _really_ loud.” He nodded.

“Rarity has been complaining about how nopony finds her work beautiful anymore. I had to drag her here on that seat. Rainbow Dash seems to think she isn’t good enough to be respected, and it was easy enough to get her to follow. And Fluttershy…” He looked down at her, brushing the mare’s mane gently. “She’s terrified of being left alone. I had a hard time convincing her to let go long enough too even walk back.”

“It's about the same with them.” I dropped Pinkie in her chair at the table, and the pink pony curled up on the seat, obviously still distraught but thankfully still silenced. Apple Bloom and Big Mac went and sat down of their own accord, and Applejack stood just inside the doorway, facing it nearly blindly. “I don’t understand it.”

“I’ve been thinking. This must be Despair’s work. It is too much like the attack on the Crystal Empire.”

“I agree. But we don’t have a Crystal Heart to dispel this.” I looked around the room, my heart tightening when I saw all my friends so distressed. “At least he hasn’t gone after the map.”

“I haven’t seen any runes or magic circles either.” He tried to move closer to me but stumbled when Fluttershy’s grip prevented him.

“Don’t go.” The pegasus’s whisper was barely audible.

“I need to talk to Twilight; I’ll be right outside.” Fluttershy squeaked. “All right, you can come with me.” With some help from Sable, she managed to stand. Slowly he escorted her outside, and I followed. There were too many distractions inside to think properly. One of the two guards outside appeared to have wandered away, his armor and shoes left behind in a neat stack. That was worrying, but I didn’t see him anywhere nearby, and I couldn’t go running around after every lost pony. “It’s as if every pony is experiencing their worst fears.”

“It's not fear, not really. This is something else, something deeper than fear. Do you think this could be what Despair meant by ‘Equestria would face despair?’”

“It's possible.” He quickly reconsidered. “No, it is probable.” He glanced at Fluttershy, she was pushing right up beside him. “Why are we immune? If anything I should be the one most affected.”

“I don’t feel anything odd. Well, nothing magical anyways.” I looked around again, the sky and the town still encased within the thick fog. “I don’t get it, why isn’t he coming after us? He’s got us almost completely at his mercy. Where is he?”

“What time is it?” Sable frowned as he looked up.

“I don’t know, sometime mid-morning I think. Why?”

“Then where is the sun?” A pit opened in my gut.

“Wait here.” I leaped into the air, flying high until the ground and the castle below vanished into the grey fog. I rose higher, trying to break free of the mist and haze. Still, I was surrounded by the cloud. Was I even still ascending, or trapped by some spell? The air whipped past me, I was still moving, but I couldn’t find the top of the cloud.

I was about to teleport back to the surface when at last I broke through. I’d gone as high as a small mountain to breach the top of the fog. In the sky above there was neither sun nor moon. A few dim stars were all that I could see in the twilight between night and day. In the very far distance, I could see mountains, including the one where Canterlot resided. The city itself was engulfed by the fog, although I thought I saw a few palace spires sticking up out of the haze. As I turned, I could see the mist spread as far as I could see, if not farther. I teleported back to the ground, appearing where I left.

“It’s bad; the fog reaches all the way to Canterlot.” I shook my head as I explained.

“At least now we know why he isn’t attacking us here. He’s nowhere even remotely nearby.”

“We have to get to Canterlot, parts of the palace may be unaffected. The princesses might be able to help.” Or need it themselves.

“How? The trains certainly won’t be running.”

“I can teleport us there.”

“All the way to the capital?”

“It’s difficult with a passenger, but I can manage.” I looked at Fluttershy, and Sable’s gaze followed. He nodded.

“Fluttershy, listen to me. I need to go; you have to stay here.” The yellow pegasus opened her eyes, desperation clear.

“No, stay.” Her voice so frightened hit my heart like a train. Sable escorted her back inside.

“Applejack is right here, so are Rarity and all the others. They will stay with you.” He lightly kissed her forehead, prying her off him and guiding her to Applejack’s side. The orange pony didn’t notice even when Fluttershy gripped her leg. “You are not alone here.” Slowly Sable backed out of the map room, closing the door behind him. I could see Fluttershy still reaching for him as the door shut. He turned back to face me, determined. “Let's go.”

“Brace yourself; this might get a little rough.” He nodded and stood beside me as I began to concentrate. Energy built around us as I focused on the throne room of the royal palace. I cast, and we blinked out of reality.

* * *

_“This curse, it affected us all this badly?”_

_“It was even worse than that, actually. It was so much worse.”_

_“What about the princesses, the Crystal Empire?”_

_“It covered all of Equestria, everypony was affected.”_

* * *

I cast, and we blinked into reality. The throne room in the Royal Palace at Canterlot materialized around us. I let out a held breath, Sable stumbled slightly and shook his head to clear it.

“I could not have done that.” He was clearly impressed. I looked around as Sable got his bearings. The princesses were not here, neither were any of the guards or administrators. A quick glance outside one of the windows revealed the cloud was here as well, flooding the city in a grey mist.

“Follow me; I think some of the higher towers are above the fog.” I galloped off, Sable right behind me. Our hoofsteps echoed off the palace walls, the only sound as we ran. I headed towards the tallest spire first, hoping somepony here figured it out before the effect overcame them. I glanced out one of the small windows as we climbed stairs, the fog didn’t reach all the way up, and I saw a few other spires cleanly. That was good. Unfortunately, we didn’t meet any unaffected ponies on the way, even when we reached the top and stepped out onto a balcony. I didn’t see any ponies on any of the other spire balconies either.

“Where are the Princess’s bedrooms? Maybe they are still there?” It was as good a guess as anywhere else to look, many of the ponies in Ponyville were in their bedrooms. The cloud must have descended sometime during the night. It took me a moment to identify the bedchambers from above.

“There, and there.” I pointed to them, Luna’s first, both of them were just below the limits of the cloud. Maybe the effect was less pronounced right at the edge? It was a shallow hope, but right now it was all I had. “Hold on.”

“Wh-?” I teleported us both right into Luna’s room. “-y? Oh.” Luna’s chamber was empty, the bed still made. She hadn’t slept in it, she might have been anywhere in the palace, that could’ve been problematic. Celestia’s room wasn’t far away; I didn’t bother teleporting this time. I charged out without waiting for Sable; he would catch up. Beneath the sounds of our hoofsteps, I heard something, a voice? I couldn’t make out what they were saying.

“Do you hear that?” I slowed to listen better, Sable stopped beside me, tilting his ears. He pointed down a hallway; I had been just about to turn down it when I heard the voice.

“That way, there’s somepony awake.” It was still in the direction of Celestia’s bedroom. We bolted off together, the voice getting louder and clearer as we approached.

“Steady Luna, steady. It is just an illusion.” It sounded like Princess Luna, talking to herself. “She can’t hurt you anymore.”

“Luna!” I called out as we rushed through the open door. Luna was pacing at Celestia’s bedside, the white Alicorn was still quite unconscious. The dark blue Alicorn turns to face us, trembling visibly.

“What fresh new torment is this?” Princess Luna blinked and stared at us, and then scowled at something unseen. “It won’t work, I know you aren’t real anymore.” My heart sank.

“This does not bode well. She’s just as out of it as everypony else.” Sable stepped forward and waved a hoof in front of Luna’s face. Luna snapped out her own and swatted Sable’s aside, snarling.

“Get back! I won’t let you touch her!” Sable backed quickly away. Luna stood defiantly between Celestia and us, eyes locked on us. Something clicked in my mind, this wasn’t like what was happening to the others.

“What do we do now? Are we the only ponies in all of Equestria still functioning?” He made to leave, stepping out into the hallway.

“Sable, wait.” He stopped and looked back. I took a step closer to Luna, slowly. “Luna? Can you understand me?” The dark blue Alicorn tracked me with her eyes but said nothing. “Luna, we’re real. We are not a trick. We’re here to help.”

“What are you doing?”

“Look at her; she’s defending Celestia, not falling apart. I think she’s resisting the curse.” I met Luna eye to eye. “Luna, tell me what you think is happening.”

“It’s Nightmare Moon. She’s doing this.” Panic seeped into her voice. “She’s trying to come back. She’s coming for my sister.”

“You’ve beaten her before. You can control this. Take deep breaths.” I reached out to put her hoof on Luna’s shoulder. When the Alicorn tried to swat it away I gripped Luna’s arm. Holding steady even when the taller Alicorn tried to pull away. “If I weren’t real, could I take your arm?” This brought Luna to a standstill, breathing hard for a moment as realization dawned in her eyes.

“Twilight? You’re real?” Much of her strength left her, the tension being just about the only thing holding her upright. I held her steady, and even Sable came over to brace the princess of the night. “This isn’t some horrible nightmare?”

“This is no dream, even though it most certainly is a nightmare.” Sable spoke first. “This is Despair’s work.”

“Come on; we have to get her above the fog.”

“Fog?” Luna mumbled, still trying to fight off the effect.

“Hold her steady, and I’ll get us back up to the balcony.” Sable nodded, using one glass wing to hold Luna upright. The air around us popped as my teleport materialized us back outside. The cloud below still obscured the city. Nothing seemed to have changed. “Luna, are you feeling better?”

“I think so?” Luna wobbled visibly, her balance shot. Sable caught her arm before she stumbled. “My mind is clearer, but it is still hard to focus.”

“She’s still very weak. The stress of fighting off the fog must have drained her.” Sable’s theory made as much sense as anything I could think of.

“Twilight? Stardust? What’s going on?” At Luna’s question, I went to the edge of the balcony, pointing out into the distance.

“We don’t know for sure, but we think Despair has finally set his plan in motion. It’s like this in Ponyville too. We think it’s everywhere. As far as we can tell, only Sable and I are immune.”

“Celestia!” Luna stumbled again, trying to rush to the balcony edge. Sable held tight, making sure she didn’t fall off. “You have to get her out of the curse!”

“I’ll be right back.” I nodded and teleported back to Celestia’s room. Without Luna drawing my attention I could see that Celestia was in pain, whimpering quietly in her sleep. I knew there wouldn’t be any point in trying to wake her while still within the influence of the cloud. So I lifted Celestia from the bed, wrapped her in the blanket, and brought us both back to the high balcony.

“Sister!” Luna broke free from Sable and ran to Celestia’s side. I set the princess in the blanket down, she twitched but did not wake. Luna ran her hoof through Celestia’s pastel mane gently. “She isn’t waking up, whats wrong?”

“It’s possible the effect is stronger in her sleeping mind than in reality.” Sable shrugged. Luna’s outline glowed softly, closing her eyes to concentrate. I could tell she had entered the dream world. Sable stood beside her, observing the princess.

“Give her a moment.” I softly cut him off before he could ask. Several long minutes passed, Celestia twitched several times but did not stir. Luna blinked and the glow dissipated, she shook her head sadly.

“My sister will not be able to assist us. Her doubts drown her. I cannot rouse her.” Carefully Luna placed her sister, still wrapped in the blanket, against the wall by the door, far from the edge of the balcony.

“So, it's just us.” Sable went to the railing and looked out at the faded world. “What kind of power does he posses that can affect the whole of Equestria? Even the princesses?”

“For all of our vaunted powers and experience, in the end, we are not that different than most ponies. Our feelings and emotions are just as volatile and profound. If anything, we might be more vulnerable to this, as we have eons of doubts and trials for the curse to draw on. We never even considered such an avenue of attack.”

“So why were you resistant?” Luna had no answer for me.

“Because she shares something in common with me.” Sable turned back, meeting Luna’s gaze. “You have been at your lowest, at the moment where you were pushed beyond sanity and hope. Yet you have fought Nightmare Moon off before, so when Despair tried to bring her back…”

“I was able to hold myself together.” She nodded, and he bowed back filled with renewed respect. At that moment I saw an unsaid connection between the two of them. “Even then. What do we do now? We don’t know how Despair is doing this. Or even where he is.”

“A spell of this magnitude would be far beyond any normal pony, maybe even beyond you.” He gestured to me. “Despair might have been reckless with his power, but without outside aid, he could never manage this.”

“Could he have recovered the Alicorn Amulet?”

“It must be.” Without waiting for the other, we both cast the tracking spell. My heart jumped to my throat when the little arrows above both of our horns pointed definitively south. “That's a bad sign.” Sable deadpanned.

“I can only guess he’s back at the lake. I can’t teleport that far to a place I barely know. How are we going to get there?”

“Before we can do that, we have to discuss what we are going to do when we meet him in the field.” Sable hardened his voice, and it was clear what he meant.

“At this point, we can no longer afford mercy. If he does not surrender, we will have to take him down by force.” Luna agreed with him, and I dropped my head. “I know you don’t want to hurt anypony, Twilight.” Luna placed a comforting hoof on my shoulder. “But look at what he’s done! This kind of threat can only be matched with a resolve to do what has to be done.” Slowly, sadly, I nodded. There was no other way. If he did not surrender, then Despair must die.

“How are we going to even get there? It will take days to get there by hoof, faster by wing but we’ll all be exhausted by the time we can get there.” I paced, Luna looked out over the fog, and Sable looked skyward as we all considered the problem.

“I think I have a solution.” Both Luna and I turned to face Sable. “In the book Sunburst gave me was a spell called ‘Rainbow Road’ which creates a magical path between two distant points. It allows rapid travel along this road.”

“That’s perfect!”

“I know that spell!” Luna interjected. “There is a problem, however.” My enthusiasm waned as she continued. “It requires one caster to anchor it at this end, and another to guide it as we run along the road. If we use this spell, one of us has to stay here to keep the path lit.” Silence dropped between us like a stone in a well.

“I’ll do it.” We both looked up at him. “I’m the weakest of the three of us, the least experienced.” He was right; I had no alternative.

“No, Stardust.” Luna stood before him. “It has to be me. We can’t overlook the fact that I am not immune to his curse. I am safe here for the moment, that is true. But if I descend into the mist, my fears and doubts will threaten to overwhelm me again. I would only be a liability on a battlefield. I cannot go with you.” Luna glanced between the two of us. “You two must face Despair alone.” Sable nodded, I could see the uncertainty on his face, he clearly doubted he was up to the task ahead. With some more confidence than I might have in her position, Luna stepped up to the railing. “Ready, Stardust?” He took a deep breath to steady himself.

“As I will ever be.” He nodded towards her one last time, his most respectful bow. “Begin.” Luna concentrated, magic gathering at her horn. Sable’s magic joined hers, and a glowing vertical circle appeared in the air before them, hovering in the air just off the balcony. A beam of multicolored lights just wide enough to stand on, glowing in a dozen shades of a dozen colors, shot off to the southern horizon out of the bottom of the circle. Sable put one hoof on the railing, ready to leap into the shimmering circle of light. “Once we step upon the road, don’t stop running!”

“I’m right behind you!” Sable nodded once to me and charged down the road. Where he crossed the threshold of the spell his body became light, rocketing down the path in the sky. I turned to say something to Luna, but the Alicorn was focusing solely on the spell. So I leaped into the circle without saying goodbye.

Everything around me became colors, I felt my body shift past a physical form, and my hoofsteps shone as I raced down the path. A pinpoint of light on the road ahead of me resolved into a spectral image of Sable Stardust as I caught up to him. His body shone with silver light, a bright star where his heart should be, little lightning bolts erupted from each hoof as they struck hard on the glowing path. I glanced down at my chest, a similar star upon my own heart.

When I looked back, I saw Canterlot castle vanishing into the distance at incredible speed, on my flank I could see my cutie mark shining brightly. I looked forward at Sable, expecting to see nothing on his thigh. To my surprise, there was something there, a tiny gleaming dot of golden light. It was too small to make out its shape, if it even had one. Sable didn’t look back at me, focusing on the road ahead of them, he hadn’t seen the light there. I intended to tell him later, once this was over.

We ran, surrounded by stars and light. Below us, Equestria was awash in grey clouds and mist, the land utterly invisible from up here. Above us, the sky was a deep red and blue, somewhere between night high above and day at the horizon, with a few scattered stars still visible. We passed a mountain capped by snow and ice, with more waiting ahead. Sable guided the road through the peaks and cliffs.

“Twilight, look!” He gestured with one wing off to the side, his words causing the air to shimmer. “It's beautiful!” An aurora of greens and blues in vast sheets of colors rushed over us. We ran now amid the ever-shifting veils of light atop a glowing rainbow, surrounded by the glistening snow-capped mountains. I had to admit; it was quite astonishingly beautiful. If only we had the time to enjoy it. The path turned again as we cleared the mountains, leaving the aurora behind, and Sable began to descend towards the distant village of Pinewood. The velocity we must have attained to reach here so quickly!

There was something strange ahead of us. I couldn’t see it before, but the clouds were swirling around a central point. Not so far away now, as we ran so swiftly upon the rainbow road, the clouds were dark and menacing. As we drew closer, they deepened and darkened until they were nearly pitch black. This must be the center of the curse; I could see the clouds on the other horizon becoming grey again. Sable saw it too, and he circled the black fog once before diving under them. The rainbow road slammed into the ground, burning a magical pattern into the soft surface as we materialized back into the physical world.

I took a moment to gather myself and take in the surroundings. Sable was panting, the exertion of the spell and the run pushed him hard. We had landed in some kind of crater, on the edge I could see jagged outcroppings of stone topped by wilting pine trees. The clouds directly above were entirely black, with a burning red line where the blackness gave way to the grey, it was a giant circle overhead which seemed to bleed fire down towards them. The ground beneath my feet was soft, like fine sand or ash, the footing here was terrible. Large boulders and stones were scattered about the crater, a few sported large glowing red runes.

At the depression in the center a small bonfire burned, and next to it a single pony sat. He stood and turned towards us, a triangular object in silver and red glittered on his chest. A face like blackened charcoal met my eyes. He cracked a horrid smile, a cruel white arc on his scarred face. Despair was waiting for us.

* * *

_“Oh, time for the final boss!”_

_“Spike, this wasn’t a game! … But yeah, this is where it all comes down to our final confrontation.”_

_“Don’t leave us hanging, dear, please do tell.”_

_“Brace yourselves… this wasn’t pretty.”_

* * *

“You got back here even faster than I expected!” Despair laughed, firelight glinted off the red gem of the Alicorn Amulet on his chest.

“Surrender the Amulet and dismantle the curse!” I stomped a hoof to emphasize.

“Always the optimist, aren’t you?” Sable didn’t speak or bother with diplomacy and fired a bright beam at Despair. The blackened charcoal pony flicked his head, and Sable’s beam veered wide, deflected easily. “See? He gets it.”

“Despair! You will hand over the Amulet!”

“Despair?” He sounded surprised to hear his own name, and I forgot for a moment that it was not, in fact, his real name. “You actually named me Despair!?” He laughed again, deeply and with his whole being, horridly it sounded familiar to me. “How incredibly appropriate! I couldn’t have picked a better name! I had been considering ‘Ashborn’ myself.” If he were here, Spike would have agreed with him. Sable fired a second beam, again Despair simply flicked his head disinterestedly, and the beam veered wide, burning a line across the far other side of the crater. “You’re going to have to do better than that now.” Crystals erupted from the ground underneath Sable, reaching around him and pinning him to the ground. I hadn’t even seen him cast!

“Sable!” I could see him preparing to teleport. “Don’t! If he has the same spells as you, he’ll have a redirection set up. You’ll just end up in another trap, or worse.”

“Ah, so the Princess of Friendship is capable of basic pattern recognition. Very good.” Despair hadn’t moved an inch from his place beside the bonfire.

“How did you get the Amulet back?” I stalled, giving Sable time to find a way out of the prison. Fighting Despair right now, with Sable at his mercy, seemed like a terrible idea.

“Look around, princess.” He waved a hoof wide. “Don’t you recognize this place?” I looked around again, only now noticing the shape of what I thought was a crater matched the outline of the lake we fought Despair at the last time. I looked down at the soil more closely; it wasn’t ash, it was lake silt. We were standing at the bottom of the lake!

“You moved the lake?” I still needed time to think. We outnumbered him, and I may yet have been the stronger, but Sable was only barely able to match him before he took the Alicorn Amulet. We could both fly, which gave us the mobility advantage. But a teleport would be too risky, at least he couldn’t either. Said like this, it seemed we held most of the advantages.

“Incorrect!” He laughed at me. “I boiled the lake away entirely! It's not like you left me much choice. It took me a week to find the amulet, trapped within the shard fragment as it was, and days more to figure out how to retrieve it.” He scowled at me, disappointed. “You really should have set more safeguards behind when you left.” I glanced around, I didn’t see the throne fragment anywhere. That was going to bite us later, I could tell. Sable finally wormed his way out of the grasping crystals, Despair even watched him do it. He seemed utterly unconcerned about Sable’s escape. The purple unicorn stood beside me, ready to fight but unwilling to make the first move. “I knew I would have to face you two.”

“Why are we immune, why does your curse not affect us?” He was fast, nimble; we would have to immobilize him in order to get any good hits in. My own shields were top notch, but Sable’s were weak, I would have to defend him myself.

“Because you were there where it all began, where _I_ began.” He sounded almost thoughtful. “It’s only fitting you would be here, at _the_ end, at _my_ end.”

“What is he talking about?” I had no answer for Sable; it made no sense.

“Why? Why are you doing this?” In a contest of endurance, there would be no way to tell which of us had the greater magical capacity anymore; the Amulet may have provided him with nearly inexhaustible power. As the fight continued his sanity would begin to slip as the Amulet corrupted him, did that make him more or less dangerous?

“Don’t make me repeat myself!” Despair snarled, and for an instant I could see the scar marks on his face and mark glowing, burning with an inner fire. “You get me monologuing, which you’ve done, and somewhere in my grand speech you figure out how my spell works and take it apart.” He laughed at her again. “I see no reason to fall for that old trope, not even when I’ve already won!” My heart sank, had he already won? The curse was already debilitating all of Equestria, how many have already been irreparably harmed by it?

“Don’t fall for it.” Sable spoke, his voice hard as a rock. “He’s bluffing. We can still take his curse apart.” Sable was right, why did I let myself falter? I steeled myself, and I wouldn’t listen to any more of Despair’s taunts.

“Should have known you wouldn’t be so easily cowed.” Despair frowned when he saw our resolve, which became a scowl. He lowered his head, pointing his horn at us and spreading his legs wide, a fighting stance. Energy burned in his eyes and my hairs stood on end. I blinked, the image of the first time I saw Sable Stardust ready to attack flashed in my mind. “Fine then. It ends in fire and blood.” Something in the bonfire moved, the fire flaring as Despair’s red aura disturbed it.

An iron sword emerged from the flames, its blade longer than Despair was from tail to tip of horn. The weapon glowed red hot along its length, the last half of it twisted around its axis several times. Sparks fell from the cutting edges as tiny bits of cinder touched it and burned away.

“He’ll go for me first. He knows I’m the weaker.” Sable whispered it in the moment before everything happened.

The three of us burst into motion. Despair leaped across the distance, faster than I thought he could move, flaming sword swinging down at us. Sable jumped into the air, firing a long beam of energy as he did so. Sable’s attack was deflected by a barrier that erected itself around Despair. I jumped to the side as the blade came down right beside me, flames burst where the sword hit the ground. The charcoal unicorn spun, slashing widely at me as he faced towards Sable. I stumbled backward; I had only just barely avoided the blade.

The ground was too soft to fight on, and I took to the air as a gout of flame from Despair threatened to engulf Sable. I flung a barrier around him, blunting the attack. I spotted the purple unicorn dart away, trying to gain distance from the other. For an instant Despair wasn’t watching me, and I attempted to imprison him within the crystal stasis spell. My spell barely began to form around him when thunder cracked where he was standing, and he appeared in the air directly above me, iron blade already dropping towards my neck. He must have keyed his redirection not to trigger when he teleported himself, that was seriously problematic and worryingly clever.

Sable’s magic hurled me to the side just in time for the blade to pass harmlessly by. He swooped in past me, firing indiscriminately down to where Despair was landing in the silt. Lightning danced and kicked up clouds of dust and ash, but none found home. Despair twirled the flaming blade above his head, and the dust cloud compressed and hardened into rock shards, shooting towards us at speed. I quickly blocked the stones with a shield, but Sable had more trouble trying to dodge, and one such projectile broke through his left wing. His fragile magic wings shattered, and he tumbled through the air.

Somehow he landed on his feet by guiding his fall with his magic and dashed behind a large stone as Despair launched another lance of fire towards him. The lance burst against the rock, tearing out a smoldering bite. Sable wouldn’t be able to get back in the air, his wing spell took too much time and energy to safely use now. One of our few advantages, lost.

I tried to catch Despair with a second crystal prison, and he vanished just as before. This time I was ready and exploded power all around me as he materialized above me again. The Charcoal unicorn was flung away, lightning cracking as he teleported himself back to the ground. Clearly, neither one of us would use that trick again.

A metal cage manifested around me; I cut through the bars with ease before it could fall to the ground with me inside. I ripped two of the bars out of the cage and closed on Despair, swinging the bars like swords. Sparks flashed as metal struck red-hot metal and the blade cut deep into my makeshift weapons. We clashed several more times; he never stopped his blade moving at any moment, using its momentum to batter my bars aside and follow through. He was disturbingly fast with such a large weapon.

He brought his sword down heavily, right atop me, and I blocked it with both metal bars. He scowled at me as we pushed against the other, the Alicorn Amulet shimmering as sparks flew from our met weapons. The marks on his face were burning even brighter, not so much scars as living lightning now. His expression shifted away from anger to a sick joy as he pressed harder, driving me back. He was enjoying this; the amulet must have been corrupting him! I twisted my bars around his blade and pulled against him instead of trying to push him back, trying to rip the iron sword out of his grasp. Despair allowed himself to be thrown rather than lose his sword, spinning through the air to land far behind me. I risked a glance away, where was Sable?!

I found him back at the cage, twisting and warping the metal. What was he doing? No time to wonder, Despair was charging again. I leaped back into the air, flashing a wide beam at the dark unicorn. He cut through it with a sharply angled shield, not even slowing, and I had to rise higher to avoid being hit by the blade. I glanced again at Sable; he was folding the metal cage into the shape of a bird and scarring it with a mark. It was clear to me now, his plan, but he needed more time to cast the spell.

Repeatedly I fired down at Despair, bright beams flashing. He deflected them all, some with shields, some with his blade as sparks and fire flashed. It did not affect him, but it gave Sable the time he needed.

“Deliver this message!” Sable’s voice boomed loudly, and Despair turned in time to see the metal construct, much more massive than he was, barreling down at him. The darkened unicorn scrambled away, the bird landed with a heavy thud where Despair had been standing, it could have flattened him. Then Despair found his feet, and charged back at the bird, slicing it cleanly in two with his heavy flaming blade.

“All that work for nothing?” Despair laughed as the bisected bird fell to either side.

“It's not a flaw.” Sable smiled back. “It's a feature!” Despair’s laughter faded as each half of the bird reanimated, growing back the missing parts, and both swooped down on him. Despair teleported away with a snap, and both birds immediately turned towards him, chasing after the unicorn. “He’s got a ‘hydra problem’ now. We’ve only got maybe a minute before he figures it out.”

“Got any other ideas?” I hovered just beside him.

“You’re looking at it.” He fired long-range blasts at Despair, none had any impact, but it kept the other unicorn unsteady as he fought off the birds, now numbering three. “We have to get that sword away from him.”

“I think we don’t; he’s not trying anything bigger while he’s got it.” More metal birds appeared as Despair continued to shred his way through them.

“Go bigger yourself then! I can’t take him alone. It has to be you! Now is your best chance, I can keep him distracted, but not for long!” Sable darted away before I could respond, he moved farther away and started to cast more spells on the ground around him. I didn’t know what he was planning next, but he was right. This had to end now, no matter whatever doubts I had.

I rose higher into the air, staring down at Despair. I gathered my inner powers, recalling how it was when I drew up all my Alicorn magic to fight Tirek. It was going to take that kind of force to bring him down for good, anything less and he’d fight through it.

Despair roared, lightning bursting. Energy leaped from metal bird to metal bird, melting and twisting them into unrecognizable lumps. Some of the bolts of lightning even reached up to me in the air. I took deep breaths, focusing through the electric pain. The birds all fell still, reduced to ashes and metal bones. None reanimated.

Despair spun again, swinging his flaming sword blindly in rage. He spotted me up in the air, fire leaping all around him as he gathered his own magic. I cast first.

A mighty barrage of power rushed down on him. He screamed, audible even from up high and over the roar of my spell. His shout grew in force; the beam was blocked by a barrier around him. He struggled against my might, his knees beginning to buckle, he had to focus all his power at the point where my beam met his shield. I poured on more energy, the light flashing brightly across the dried lake as my beam crashed down on his guard.

For a moment we were locked in the clash, each pouring as much power as we could into the other. Then out the corner of my eye, I saw Sable, aiming carefully along one arm, a thin beam of light emitting from his horn. The neon beam tracked across the ground, terminating on Despair’s side. He fired a neon blue bolt of lightning, the most powerful I had ever seen from him, which leaped out towards Despair.

The shield failed. The spot Despair was standing disappeared in a brilliant flash as my spell slammed into the ground at the exact moment Sable’s lightning speared through. I shielded my eyes as the explosion sent up a massive cloud of dust and ash, I was nearly blown out of the air. The echoes of the blast melted away into the distance, and the dust cloud began to disperse. Despair was gone, nothing left but a crater and scorched earth, I let out a relieved sigh. It was over.

I looked down at Sable to smile. He met my eyes, grinning.

Lightning cracked by his side, horrifyingly familiar. My heart stopped mid-beat. Despair stood there; his twisted iron sword raised high above Sable’s head. A cruel smile etched on Despair’s cracked face, his body smoking, he only barely escaped the onslaught. There wasn’t time to help. Sable fell back, raising his arm to ward off the blow already coming down. I screamed as the blade descended.

Sable grinned.

A stone spike thrust up from the ground, where the trap was laid at Despair’s feet. He had just enough time to dodge the first spike, leaping to the side before it could puncture right through his chest, Sable shouldn’t have given him a warning. A second trap triggered and impaled Despair through his left foreleg. The charcoal unicorn screamed, howling with animal pain. The flaming blade dropped to the ground beside Sable, sizzling where the red-hot metal touched the ground.

For a moment he was pinned, and I tried to summon up enough strength to end it. But I couldn’t catch my breath; the last spell was too much, I needed a minute before I could muster enough power to do anything like it again. Sable stole the sword, swinging it in to decapitate Despair. But the other unicorn was still stronger and flung Sable and the sword far away. Molten blood, glowing like magma, seeped from his leg. The stone glowed red, then white-hot, and Despair wrenched his limb clear as the spike snapped like a twig.

I swung down to snatch Sable away from a return blast, hauling him into the air and away from Despair while we caught our breath. The sword remained on the ground.

“I almost had him.” I couldn’t spare a word for him as I evaded more fire from the ground. At least Despair’s mobility was impaired now, our advantage restored. We landed behind one of the larger boulders, red beams spearing through the air and all around us, Despair firing wildly. “I don’t know about you, but I can’t keep this up much longer.”

“I need a minute; I can’t do that again just yet. Where is he getting all this power?”

“Where are the guards.” He said it as if it answered the question. He peeked around the edge of the boulder and fired off a weak beam. Could Despair have already drained the royal guards of their magic using Tirek’s powers? Could he have done the same to the village of Pinewood? The massive boulder took a shot from Despair, but it was thick enough to resist. It gave me an idea.

“Keep him still, just for a few seconds.” Sable nodded, darting out to the open and launching a quick barrage. A lance of fire was his response, tracking him as he ran across the dry lake. I focused on the boulder, lifting it from the ground until I could see Despair underneath it. He’d retrieved his sword, still firing on Sable, his eyes blazing. It took tremendous effort, but I hurled the boulder at him. I saw him blink in surprise as the rock came crashing down towards him.

Despair vanished in a crack of lightning, reappearing above the rock in flight. He stabbed his blade into the stone and leaped off again, using his own momentum and the sword as a lever to fling the rock back at me. Then he kicked it hard, boosted by magic, and it accelerated towards me. I couldn’t stop it; I wasn’t fast enough to escape!

Without thinking I teleported away, intending to just barely avoid the boulder. But something pulled at me, taking me from where I wanted to be. I materialized on the other side of the dry lake in a circle of stones. I blinked, trying to clear my head and gain my bearings. Red runes on the stones glowed, and bright threads of energy reached out and wrapped around me, pulling me to the ground. Desperately I tried to pull myself free, but they only bound tighter around me. I tried to teleport away, but when I gathered my magic, the threads flared brightly, searing me and disrupting my concentration. I couldn’t catch my breath.

“Twilight!” Sable screamed my name, and I spotted him bolting towards me. Despair laughed, appearing before him with a lightning snap, and swung his sword at the purple unicorn. Sable was able to block the blow with a shield, but it tossed him away. I continued to struggle against the threads holding me down.

“I knew it would get you eventually!” Despair limped towards me, his face charred and blackened cracked opened with a blazing smile. His sword dragged on the ground beside him, drawing a burning line in the silt. “You’re just too fond of teleportation!”

“Get away from her!” Sable bowled into the unicorn, sending them both tumbling to the ground. He pounded his hooves into the other unicorn’s face, his only weapon left. Despair only laughed, even as his boiling blood stained Sable’s arms. Red magic flashed, and Sable screamed, thrown away by the burst of power. He landed far away in a steaming heap, struggling to get back to his feet, burned and battered.

“I’ve had quite enough of the both of you!” Despair stood again, his face now blotched with his own blood. “It’s time to burn!” He laughed madly, all reason lost, as he gathered power to him. I recognized the spell as the same explosive one he used when he attacked the castle. I was able to catch it and throw it away that time, but here? Trapped within Despair’s prison, I wouldn’t be ready to fight it off! Sable got back to his feet, at last, and fired with what strength he could muster. The beam hit Despair square in the side, but there was almost no force behind it, and he only barely stumbled. A bright burning star appeared on Despair’s horn, and his spell was ready.

Despair’s laugh echoed as he teleported high into the air and flung the blazing star down at us. I couldn’t look away, trying to fight through the pain to put up some kind of defense. A diamond light blazed before my eyes, matched by a sound I could only describe as a flash. Fully expecting to be incinerated to ash, I braced myself for oblivion.

It didn’t come. I blinked, looking out at the bright star vibrating slightly right before my nose. I should have been dead; we should have all been dead. A claw reached down and plucked the magic sun out of the air like a grape. I tracked it with my eyes as the spell was passed to a lion’s paw, and from there to the mouth of the thing in front of me. This creature, a chaotic mishmash of various monsters and equines, took a bite out of the spell as if it were a cupcake, utterly unconcerned about the vast raw power in its paw.

“Oh, that's spicy.” The draconequus swallowed another bite of the burning star, a little steam coming out of his ears. “Hello, Twilight.” Despite all my pain, despite all my fear, hope rose within me, and I smiled. “Need an extra hand?” Discord was here.

* * *

_“Woo! Go Discord!”_

_“Wow, I bet he ended that quick.”_

_“That’s what I thought too. When he showed up, I was so sure everything was about to turn in our favor with just the snap of his fingers.”_

_“…Why do I suddenly get the sinking feeling this doesn’t end well?”_

* * *

Discord snapped his fingers, and the threads binding me to the ground released. The runes on the stones stood and fled, yelping and whimpering like dogs with tails between their legs. He snacked on Despair’s explosion still in his paw, nibbling on the attack which should have killed me.

“So, who’s this then?” He gestured at the charcoal Unicorn, who appeared with a lightning crack back beside where the bonfire had been with flaming sword floating alongside. “Some original character gotten completely out of hand?” Despair fired a bright red beam at us, I flinched, but Discord merely held out his claw and caught the beam. He pulled, barely putting any effort into it, and yanked it out of Despair’s control and coiled it like a rope on the ground in front of him, where it burned into a pile of ash.

“We call him Despair.” I stood, fighting off the pain, and pointed up at the black hole that was the sky. “He’s the one who did this.” Discord being here meant we had already won, and hope filled my heart anew. “Not that I’m complaining, but what are you even doing here?” I glanced over at Sable, slowly catching his breath. He was wounded and drained, but still alive.

“It’s time for my weekly visit with Fluttershy. I thought I would find her waiting for me with tea and crumpets, not crying on the floor.” Discord frowned, a violent hard edge sneaking out of his voice. He swallowed the rest of the blazing star; it was never a threat to him.

“How did you find us?”

“Dear Twilight, you must be joking.” He chuckled and patted my head. “That light show? I could see it from my living room.” Discord turned back to the pony at the center of the lake, narrowing his eyes. “Now if you will excuse me, my little pony, I’ll handle this now.” Discord levitated slowly forward, calmly but unrelentingly, allowing Despair the time to see just how screwed he was.

The charcoal pony’s eyes flared, and suddenly four triangular panes of crystal burst from the ground, encasing me in the circle of stone beneath a crystalline pyramid. I stumbled away from them; I had almost been hit by one as it emerged from the ground. Why would Despair bother to trap me again? What did he gain? I tried to push them aside, but they resisted my magic. Teleporting out was equally useless, the redirection was still set up, and I just rematerialized back in the stone circle.

Two gigantic boulders propelled by Despair’s red aura, as large as houses, flew into the air and spun towards the draconequus. Discord simply pointed down with one finger, and both boulders shrank until they were nothing more than pebbles, bouncing off his body harmlessly. He continued to hover slowly towards Despair, scowling at the unicorn. Despair took several stumbling steps away from the approaching draconequus, leaving his sword on the ground with the tip where the bonfire had been. Something was wrong; I could tell I had missed something important…

Sable stumbled towards me, limping badly, leaving Despair to Discord. I could already see him trying to figure out how to free me. He started to fire a pinpoint cutting beam at the crystal walls, trying to slice his way in.

Why would Despair go back to the middle of the lake? He had to know there nothing he could do against Discord’s magic. Nothing short of the Elements of Harmony could pose a severe threat to the draconequus demi-god of chaos. I blinked and realized that wasn’t true. He was once rendered nearly helpless by the changeling throne. My heart sank anew, my hope dying. That's where Despair had hidden the throne fragment, just beneath the bonfire. He was luring Discord into a trap.

We never mattered, Sable and I. The question was never if Despair could overpower _us_ , it was if Despair could overcome _Discord_! All his planning, all his power, all his stolen knowledge would be as nothing if he couldn’t bring down the draconequus. Everything he did, he did for this one moment.

“Discord, it’s a trap! Get back!” The draconequus ignored her. Sable finally made his way to the edge of the pyramid, focusing his magic on the joint between two of the crystal panes, the prison screeched like nails on a chalkboard. I pounded on the wall, trying to get his attention and pointing down at Discord. Sable put one hoof on the prison for stability, meeting my eyes.

“I’ll get you out of there, just give me a moment.” He meant to sound reassuring, but he didn’t understand the threat. He hadn’t heard me either.

“No, don’t save me! Save Discord! Listen to me!” It was no use; Sable couldn’t hear me no matter how hard I screamed. I looked back to the middle of the lake, pounding helplessly against the crystal barrier. “No! No!” My efforts were for naught; they couldn’t hear me. Discord had passed over the bonfire pit, standing on the ground just in front of Despair. His arms folded behind his back and he stared at Despair as a disapproving teacher would a disruptive student. The charcoal pony stood defiantly against the spirit of chaos, the red gem of the Alicorn Amulet on his chest seemed to blaze with its own inner light.

“Just so you know.” Discord leaned down to look the charcoal pony with the glowing scars face to face, his voice dripping venom. I could still hear them, even from here. Despair wanted me to hear this, to see this. “I’m going to turn you into a cactus for what you’ve done to Fluttershy.” The ground rumbled, and Despair’s horn glowed. Discord didn’t notice the jet black object emerging from the ground just behind him. How could Despair be moving the anti-magic field? The shard didn’t block physics; he must be pushing on something below it.

I spun back towards Sable; he could still see me. He couldn’t hear, but he could read. I conjured two written words in the air.

‘Save Discord’

At last, he got the message, and I saw my words reflected in Sable’s eyes. Twisting to see what was happening, eyes wide, we both faced the two at the center of the lake. Sable focused everything he had, firing a beam at Despair. It fizzled out where it reached the anti-magic field.

“Run! Get away!” Discord didn’t listen to Sable’s shouts.

“Go ahead then!” Despair taunted, grinning cruelly, his cracked face dripping molten blood. “Try it!” Discord scowled one last time. The changeling throne fragment emerged entirely from the silt, the crystal embedded within a log. It was too late.

Discord raised one hand in front of Despair’s face and snapped his fingers. Everypony froze. Aside from the howl of the wind above, there was silence. Nothing happened. There was no flash of light or sound, no pony transformed into a spiky plant. The draconequus blinked and looked down at his claw. He snapped his fingers again. Nothing happened. Despair laughed, slowly at first, then building to a roaring crescendo. He was standing just outside the anti-magic field.

“Discord! Get out of there!” Sable shouted. Maybe he could still run for it. Discord glanced back towards us, only seeing now the black crystal. Then he looked down at his hands for an instant, and back up at the charcoal black unicorn now lifting the red-hot blade high above his head.

“Oh dear.” He almost sounded strangely calm. There was nothing we could do but watch.

The blade slammed down on Discord, the draconequus screamed in pain. Again Despair slammed the iron mass into him. And then again, and again, and again in wide, blazing swings. He laughed wildly, his scars and eyes spilling fire. Discord fell to the ground, feebly trying to block the weapon with his arms. To no effect. The metal blade broke his arms, his legs, a horn, his fang. Draconequus blood flashed into the air, igniting as it splattered onto Despair’s insane face.

“Twilight, help…” Discord begged, barely able to speak. Despair raised the sword high and impaled the red-hot point into the defeated draconequus. Discord screamed anew as Despair twisted the knife and dragged him out of the anti-magic field, opposite from Sable and I. Despair slammed a hoof onto Discord’s neck and leaned down until the fire leaking from his face burned Discord’s ear.

“Just so you know…” Despair sneered. “You would have won if you’d just done it from over there.” Discord tried to fight back, to raise his fingers again, but the pain was too much. And then Despair opened his mouth like a pit into some hell, and _inhaled_. I gasped, I had seen this before, when Tirek stole all my Alicorn magic. Discord’s form began to waver, his outline losing cohesion as his magic was sucked away. The draconequus’s head fell back; I could see his terror as his eyes begged me for help. His body started to crumple, Despair took so much more than just his magic, I heard stone cracking as Discord hardened into granite.

Then all was silent, and Discord was stone, dead. Despair lifted the petrified draconequus over his head, still impaled on the sword, and glared at us. His body began to smolder, to glow with infernal internal fire.

“You want him back? Here, have him!” He hurled the blade towards us, cleaving Discord’s petrified body in two. The stone fragments of his body crashed into the crystal prison, shattering the walls. The twisted sword landed in the dust, forgotten. Discord’s stone head landed before me, detached from what once his body, already falling apart. I pulled the head close, tears rolling down my face and onto the petrified eyes still begging for me to save him.

* * *

_“Discord lost?! He died!?”_

_“Oh my goodness!”_

_“…”_

_“How did you beat Despair, when he stole all Discord’s power?”_

_“…”_

_“You did beat him… didn’t you?”_

_“…”_

_“Twilight?”_

* * *

Despair laughed victoriously, his skin boiled away, his body blazed. The Alicorn Amulet sank into the mass of ash and fire that he was becoming, a burning bright red diamond where his heart should have been. His mane and tail billowed out into acrid smoke. The scars on his face became his face as his features dissolved away. His form was now nothing but ash and dark magic, the molten core of his being visible through breaks in the blackened body of the Monster.

“At last!” His voice burned, roaring like dragon fire. “With all this power!” Red lightning leaped from the terrible spike that was his horn, splitting the air open as it reached high to the red ring in the clouds above us. “I can see my answer!”

“He’s completely lost it!” Sable had to shield his eyes from the firestorm that now raged around the Monster. “Twilight, what do we do?!” I had no answer for him. There was nothing we could do against such reckless hate and unbridled power. Maybe, maybe, if we had the Elements of Harmony, we could fight him. But now? There was nothing left but ash and sorrow.

Something glinted on the horizon, a tiny flicker of light flew down towards us. It was familiar somehow, as if I had seen it before. It circled the dried lake, pulled in towards the black circle in the sky. As it passed, I could see it clearly, a four-pointed star with two tails of candy green and teal rising from it. Starlight Glimmer’s cutie-mark. What did this mean? Was it hope, or something worse?

“Ah! The first to fall to despair!” The Monster pointed at it, and the cutie-mark flew over to him. “But not the last!” He raised his hoof, and the mark became a streak as it rose into the black pit in the sky. Starlight’s cutie-mark vanished into the dark, and I felt her loss like a knife to the heart. The Monster gestured to the horizons, I saw more points of light descending towards us. “Beautiful, aren’t they!”

Each point and streak of light resolved into a cutie-mark as it swung in. Most I didn’t recognize, but a few I did. The names and faces of my friends and the other ponies I knew flashed through my mind as they passed. Trixie, Granny Smith, Derpy, Apple Bloom, Zecora, Wave Dasher, Spitfire, Cheerliee, Shining Armor, Daring do, Moon Dancer, Earl Grey, Mr. Cake, Sunburst, Maud Pie, Zephyr Breeze, Night Light. Dozens, hundreds, thousands. They swirled, a tornado of light and loss as they were drawn into the black vortex to disappear forever.

“What have we here?” The Monster snatched one before it could pass out of reach, holding it just over a raised hoof. It was a sun, bright and happy, a mark I knew so well.

“Celestia! No.” Pits of boiling lava, the Monster’s eyes, turned towards me. He clenched his arm, and the solar disk exploded into a cloud of embers. “No!” Sable once asked if I knew what I would do at my lowest point. What would I do when pressed past all limits of sorrow and sanity? I had no answer for him then.

_Now I knew._

A voice screamed, it was mine, drawing in everything I could and more. I knew nothing now but pain and rage. Magic exploded out of me, a living conduit of energy, and slammed down on the Monster. Both our voices screamed in agony, somewhere I heard Sable Stardust calling my name. I couldn’t listen anymore. My power shone, fueled by all I had, drawn from my hopes and dreams and pains and sorrows, from my prodigious intellect, from my cutie-mark, from my life itself.

The Monster that was Despair fell back, my own magic so bright it burned even him. His body started to dissolve. The red diamond at his core flared brightly, a gleaming barrier forming around it. Everything flashed white hot, then past white, past color, until there was nothing but power.

It faded, my body could take no more. I fell to the ground, somehow still breathing. Did I win? I blinked past my pain, to see a figure ebon black standing where the Monster had been, immobile. It was wasted away to nearly nothing, wretchedly thin and frail. It didn’t seem to have eyes or even a face anymore. All around it was blasted ash, the silt melted down into glass and then broken by a power beyond even that.

Sable rushed to my side, picking me up physically, trying to help me stand. I could barely move. He smiled down at me, and I tried to smile back.

Something cracked. A low drumbeat, like a heart, filled the air.

No, no. This couldn’t be happening. I won. I had to have won.

The chest of the ebon figure fell away like ash, the pulsing ominous red glow of the Alicorn Amulet shone forth. A horrid smile, a jagged white-hot arc on its blackened face. Lightning scars broke the flakes of ash from its face and the Monster that was Despair howled. He stumbled towards us, his body still weak and frail. Most of his seemingly endless power was gone, but more than enough remained to kill us both.

Sable pulled me away before I was incinerated by a wave of flame, dragging me behind a large boulder for cover. I could do nothing but shake, it was all falling down around me, I couldn’t think. He couldn’t have survived; it wasn’t possible.

The boulder was lifted from the ground, hurled to the side with ease. The Monster stood there, all fire and ash. He reached out and swatted Sable aside like so little a thing as a doll. Then he lifted me and threw me bodily against the stone, holding me off the ground by pinning one wing to the rock.

“What to do… to you… for that?” His breath was hot and foul, like a volcano. His eyes slid down me, and he smiled cruelly. “Oh, I know just the thing.”

“No. No. Don’t.” I couldn’t even get enough breath to shout. I kicked weakly, struggling to get away before he could violate me. Sable screamed and charged. The Monster turned one eye to the purple unicorn. A great hand of crystal burst up and seized the pony. Forcing him to the ground so he couldn’t even look away.

“You stay right there, and watch.” The Monster returned his vile attentions to me. Still, I struggled, instincts trying to get me away even though I knew I couldn’t. “Stop moving!” I didn’t think I had the strength left to scream. I was wrong. He had snapped the bones in my wing. Sable cried out my name, reaching out towards me in vain.

Pain paralyzed me; I could do nothing as he pressed against me. Then he thrust, burning hot, and I screamed anew. He wanted this to hurt. He tore, he _ripped_ into me as he finished his work. Everything I was slipped away, I had no strength left to fight him even at the most basic level, I could barely even breathe.

Then he dropped me to the ground, and I weakly looked up to see my blood on him. My cutie-mark hung there, impaled on his horn. There was nothing left of me now but my body. The Monster grinned down at me and kicked me over towards the crystal hand holding Sable prisoner. My wing bent and twisted in all the wrong ways, pain shot through me. We couldn’t win now, it was all hopeless, even if I had strength left I didn’t have my magic anymore.

The crystal hand released Sable; I didn’t care why. It wasn’t like it would make a difference. Sable tried to lift me, to drag me behind another rock, for whatever little cover it might provide.

But the Monster wasn’t done toying with me yet. As Sable dragged me away, I saw the Monster reach up and pull my mark from his bloody horn. He held it over his head and turned one flaming pit of an eye towards me before he dropped it into his blazing mouth and swallowed it whole.

Where Sable got his strength from, I didn’t know. I didn’t care anymore. He held me close, hiding behind the rock. Flames licked at its edges as the Monster fired on us. Sable’s arms should have been a comfort, but everything was pain now.

“Help me, Twilight! I don’t know what to do!” There was nothing left to do.

“Just wait for the end with me, please.”

* * *

_“Whoa… you lost?”_

_“Are you alright?”_

_“_ _What did he do to you?”_

_“He impaled my side with his horn, stole my cutie mark and magic. I gave up. There wasn’t any point in even trying anymore.”_

_“I don’t understand. How can you be here to tell us the story if Despair won?”_

_“Because Sable was still alive. And with him, hope.”_

* * *

“How many?!” The Monster fired again, the rock melted away like wax. Sable stumbled with me away from our pitiful cover to try and find more. “How many will die?! Even your precious Twilight Sparkle!” The ground in front of us became a wall of fire; there was nowhere left to run. Sable held me close, shielding me with his own body. Both of us stared at the Monster of ashes and cinders as he marched slowly towards us, each step marked by a burst of flame where hoof met the ground. The Monster pointed one hoof at the unicorn in the black coat. “How many will die all _because you weren’t good enough!?_ ” Why now, in this very last moment, did he sound so familiar? Why did Sable Stardust’s face, that day at the hovel, flash in my mind?

Sable stopped shaking. His eyes opened wide. The Monster laughed at us again.

“I know what he is.” He was calm, how could he be calm? “I understand now.” Sable looked down at me, his tears dry in the heat. It was the same expression I saw on his face just as he cast the spell at the map table that broke his mind. “He is me. I am him.” Why hadn’t the Monster already ended us?

“What are you saying? I don’t understand.” Why did it even matter?

“I’m sorry.” Sable let me go, setting me gently on the ground. He stood at his full height between the Monster and me. Somehow he found the strength to face against the fire and darkness. The Monster blinked, confused as the powerless Sable advanced defiantly towards him, and then chuckled at Sable’s audacity.

“Sable! No! What are you doing?!” He glanced back at me for just an instant, calm and determined, before facing the Monster again under the sky full of swirling lights. Why wouldn’t he just die with me?

“I know what you are now!” Sable stopped advancing. “You aren’t just Despair; you’re _my_ despair!” The Monster stopped laughing, suddenly shaken. “I stood on the event horizon, balanced on a razor’s edge when I cast that spell.” It backed away, just one step. “You were there, on one side of that line. Twilight Sparkle on the other. I fell both ways as the spell collapsed, torn in two!” He advanced one more step, and the Monster fell back, snarling.

“Be quiet!” I saw power gathering on the Monster’s horn. Flames burned around Sable. He remained standing, unblinking as the blaze faded. Where did he find the power to put up that kind of shield? Something golden glistened beneath his coat as it fluttered in the burning wind. Seven solid diamond crystals manifested above the Monster, sparkling with the lights of the swirling cutie-marks above them. I was too weak even to look away.

“You are everything I am, everything I was!” Sable stomped one hoof, hard, and lightning sprang from his horn. The bolts reached out and smote bright lines on the Monster, it retreated further away, shrieking in pain. “If I have to face my fears, my hate, my pain, and my sorrow in order to bring you down, then so be it!” He locked his eyes on the Monster, unblinking, confident. “You can try to kill me.” Who is he kidding? The Monster _will_ kill him. “But you cannot break me.” A gleaming golden shield appeared in the air before the unicorn.

The Monster scowled and waved one hoof, and immediately proved Sable wrong. The first crystal took off his right foreleg, piercing through the shield as if it were nothing. The severed limb landed not far from me. Pure pain from Sable now as he shouted, almost falling to the side as he struggled to remain standing upright.

“I’m still standing.” He grit it out, snarling past the agony. The Monster scowled back at him, and the other six crystals streamed towards the defiant unicorn. Sable tried to fight them off, shooting several down with neon blue lightning, but it was no use. One cut him hard along the side, another across the neck. When the barrage was over, Sable was perforated, dripping blood, but by some miracle, he still stood and drew breath. His left eye was shut, shot out, but he still stared at the enemy. “I’m… Still… Standing!”

Energy flowed towards the Monster’s horn, spiraling in as he reared. Magic flared, bright and wide. The beam overflowed Sable’s shield, and the unicorn disappeared in the stream of power. The magic faded, where Sable had been standing there was only a deep scar in the ash. Something soft landed in front of me. A scrap of black cloth, all that was left of Sable Stardust’s black coat. I grasped at it, holding on to everything that remained of him, and it disintegrated into dust in my arms. I couldn’t even die with him.

Despair stared at where Sable had been. It almost seemed like he couldn’t believe it himself. Then Despair laughed, whole and deeply, genuinely and finally victorious.

“See, princess! Hope is dead!” He turned his flaming face up to see the vortex of cutie-marks. “Despair the stronger! I knew it had to be! How else could I go on, knowing I had fallen so far? I had to see the truth.” Tears, real tears, streamed down his face, how can such a vile thing cry? “Was I so weak? I gave up on everything.” His voice dropped, no longer a violent shout. “But I had to know. When it came down to it, was I so much weaker than the rest of the world?” He sounded so much like Sable. “I have my answer. Even in all my failings, I am no different. I am nothing special. Nothing of value.” All his fire, his internal fury, started to fade away. His body cooled, coalescing into a figure I feared I knew so well. Sable Stardust’s silhouette stood before me, framed by the swirling vortex of lights. “I have taken the destiny from them. So they fall, as despair takes hold, as they give up.” He was silent for a while more, watching as the last of the streaming cutie-marks disappeared into the black pit. “It’s over. Finally it’s over.” He turned towards me, Sable’s face behind the scars. “We are all that’s left, you and I.” He bowed his head, so familiar, so like the Sable I knew. “There is nothing left to do but kill you, and end.”

I couldn’t look away as he began to cast the final spell, as darkness began to settle. The red ring in the sky started to fade, and the light of the world went away. It was all over; I gave up, Despair had finally won. Magic flowed forth from him. It washed over me as everything went black.

I blinked, still alive. I did not fade away. Despair, in the body so much like Sable, still stood there. A tiny glimmer of golden light between us, the only light left in the world. Neither one of us knew what was going on, and I saw his confusion just as plain as my own.

“I told you. You cannot break me.” That was Sable’s voice, the real one! It seemed to come from nowhere. Despair fired again, and a shimmering golden shield erected itself before the spark, it looked like a heart. Despair’s magic impacted the barrier and did nothing.

Five more tiny lights appeared in the air, flying in from the north. They spiraled around the light, around me. Each one was a symbol I knew so well. Each a trio of apples, of balloons, of diamonds, of butterflies, and a single multicolored lightning bolt.

“What is this?” Despair backed away, utterly bewildered. The cutie-marks in the air came to a stop, surrounding me. Golden spectral forms of my friends materialized at each mark, facing me. I could read their expressions as clear as day, despite the fact I could see right through their bodies.

“You all came? Even now, at the end?” The golden figures all nodded. “You came to save me? To save the world?” They had no voices, but they each smiled.

“No, no. No!” Despair snarled, some of his rage reigniting, the Alicorn Amulet glowed red again. The shimmering heart shield held as Despair unleashed more fire on us.

“How can we stop him? He took my mark; I’m powerless!” Applejack came to my side and placed one ghostly arm on me. Her touch was warm, familiar and friendly. I looked up into her smile and understood as the earth pony tipped her hat. “No! Don’t go! I can’t do this alone!” The others all came closer, each placing a hoof on me, the agony in my chest faded away peacefully. Despite my begging, I knew… it was time for them to go. I had to choke back my tears. “Thank you for your friendship; I love you all.” It was almost too painful to watch, but I had to, for them as well as myself.

Rarity went first, always the generous one, flicking her hair one last time. Resolutely she stepped up to the glimmering golden point of light between me and Despair. Her mark flashed brightly, beautifully. Rarity was gone.

Rainbow Dash was next, loyal and fearless, saluting me with one wing and a bright smile before standing with the golden spark, ready for the next adventure. Her mark flared, bursting like a sonic rainboom. Rainbow Dash was gone.

Pinkie Pie bounded over to the golden light. I swore I heard her laughter as she jumped in place. Her mark popped, little bits of shimmering confetti flashed for a moment. Pinkie Pie was gone.

Applejack, honest and strong, helped me to my feet before stepping to the light. She reared as if to celebrate, and her hat fell off. The hat obscured her mark and then faded. Applejack was gone.

Fluttershy was last. She came over to hug me, one final act of kindness, the embrace was gentle and soothed my pain. I nodded and tried to smile past my tears. Slowly the golden pony stepped up to the gleaming point of light, looking back to smile one final time. Her mark fluttered as if blown away by the wind, and disappeared. Fluttershy was gone.

Through all this Despair continued to pour fire on the flames beyond the heart shield. He scowled and howled at me. Even protected by my friends, how could I win this?

Then I heard a hoofstep behind me.

I looked back. A single shimmering hoof materialized slowly, a right foreleg, the rest of the body rising in silver and gold like the dust of fallen stars. Glass wings flapped once, held wide at his side.

Sable Stardust stepped up beside me. He nodded, familiar and sad. Then he turned his eyes towards Despair and stood before the golden spark.

Despair howled with rage and failure. He poured endless fire and magic into the shield, his body burning itself out, inexhaustible powers finally nearing their end.

Twin wings of blinding lightning unfolded from the golden heart as the fire threatened to break around its edges. They opened wide around me and Sable, Despair’s fire was as nothing to them. Sable looked back at me and smiled softly. A six-pointed star blossomed at the center of the golden heart shield. A star I knew, my star. Sable walked through the golden spark, unafraid of the fire.

“They saved my life.” Sable spoke, his voice was calm and sure, clearly audible even over the roar of magic. “They saved yours.” I couldn’t tell if he was talking to me or to Despair, maybe both at once. “Rarity’s drama and beauty. Applejack’s love for her family. Rainbow Dash’s competitive spirit. Starlight Glimmer’s magical skill. Even Pinkie Pie’s stupid jokes. Fluttershy’s quiet inner strength. All of it, their hope gives me power. Especially…” He glanced back at me again, something special sparkled in his eyes. “They are my friends.” He advanced again, right through the infernal flames of Despair. Upon his flank the same symbol appeared, bringing the golden spark with it. The lightning winged heart shield, with my own magic star at its core, shimmered in gold and silver upon his side brighter and more glorious than any mere fire.

“Why won’t you just _DIE!”_ All Despair’s sanity was gone, nothing but uncomprehending hate was left.

“Don’t you understand, Despair?” I found my voice was strong, much to my surprise. “Hope is immortal.”

“You are my despair, my sorrow.” Sable advanced calmly towards the burning pony. “Myself at my worst. Not anymore!” He started to lower his head, to point his horn at Despair’s beating red heart. “I will no longer let my despair hurt those I love!” Despair screamed in fear as Sable’s horn pierced the red gem of the Alicorn Amulet.

I expected a bright flash. I expected a rush of power or an explosion. What I got was the shattering of glass, the sound of crystal breaking. Sable in silver and gold, and Despair all black and burning, both stood still as stone. The blazing inferno that was Despair’s core was snuffed out, Sable’s glowing body vanished. Darkness took us all, and the light was gone.


	9. Stardust's Destiny

_“…”_

_“Wait a minute, that can’t be how it ends!”_

_“Yeah, you’re here talking to us, telling the story.”_

_“You’re right, obviously. There is a little more to say. Don’t worry… I’m almost done.”_

* * *

When I blinked my eyes, I saw I was still within the dried lake. The black hole in the sky was gone, only grey clouds remained. All around me was stillness and silence; not even the wind blew anymore. Despair’s twisted sword had cooled, it was just blasted iron now. My wing hung limply at my side, and pain shot through it with each breath. My left rear leg was stiff; my bloody flank ached where Despair had impaled me with his horn. The horizon glowed faintly, not quite sunlight, not quite the night.

Not far from me stood an equine figure all in black. It stood on all four legs, waiting for something. Softly the weak light reflected off its surface, it was made from obsidian or something like it. I stumbled towards it, dragging my stiff leg through the ashen ground beneath me. The face of the statue was raised towards the sky, a unicorn horn upon its brow. Jagged lines traced across its face, the lightning scars of Despair.

When I recognized it, I yelped and fell back, my pulse rising again. The figure did nothing. It was only stone. Slowly I picked myself off the ground and looked around for signs of life.

I was alone. Truly, alone. Sable was gone. My friends were gone. Discord was gone. Even Despair was gone. What happens next? What can happen next? I could go home. See what remained. My eyes were drawn back to the face of black glass.

“I hate you.” I stepped closer to it, something clinked under my hoof. A broken red diamond lay in the dust. The core of the Alicorn Amulet, destroyed. “I hate you.” I picked up the largest red fragment with a hoof. “I hate you!” I screamed myself hoarse yelling at the statue. Weakly I flung the red gem at the black figure, a tiny chip of obsidian fell to the ground. Unable to stand any longer I collapsed to the ground, ash rising about me for a moment. All I could do was breathe in short shallow gasps; in pain, in sorrow. I didn’t have any tears to cry, or I would have.

Something cracked. A sound I had heard before. No. Not again. It had to be some sick joke. He was dead. He had to be dead. Sable killed him.

Black glass fell to the ground, in small flakes at first, as the fissures spread from where the cracked red diamond struck it in the chest. Something silver glinted underneath the obsidian. Then the stallion shook off the rest of the casing, the glass shed off him like water. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. He stood tall, alive, looking up at the grey sky.

“What have I done?” His voice was breathless, ashamed. Now he looked down at me, neon blue eyes peering out from behind the silver mask. It was not a terrifying thing anymore, the lightning filigree lines framing his face and eyes were bright and clean. His face was no longer the mask of despair. His mask was now the face of hope.

“Sable Stardust?” Was it really him? Was he really alive? He reached up to pull the mask off his dark purple face, dropping it in the ash next to him.

“Twilight Sparkle.” He nodded, so very familiar and comforting. All pretense of restraint fell away, he reached out to me and drew me close and embraced me the way I did for him on the balcony. Was that only last night? I couldn’t have pushed him away even if I wanted to. “I’m so sorry.” He could barely even whisper it. He cried over me, and I rested in his arms, for how long I didn’t know. Until at last, we could both speak again.

“It wasn’t your fault.” Slowly he helped me to stand, I couldn’t manage on my own for long and had to lean against him. There was something strange about him now, something new. In his mane alongside the neon blue, there was now a streak of silver and another of gold flanking it.

“Yes. It was.” Something draped over me, a wing… Sable’s wing. It didn’t feel like glass. I gasped when my own damaged wing was touched. “Your wing! Are you alright?”

“It's broken. He shattered it.” My breath hissed with the pain.

“Wait here; I’ll make a splint.” For a moment I stood alone and watched him walk away. His cutie-mark was plainly visible. It was a heart-shaped golden shield, flanked by a pair of wings made from blue lightning. My own six-pointed star in silver rested at the core of the heart shield. He hadn’t noticed, had he?

He lifted the iron blade from the ground, and it crumbled into slag and dust. Then he shook his head in disappointment before leaping into the air and over to the treeline. I could see his wings now; they were different than they used to be. At first, I thought I must be seeing things. But when he returned bearing solid branches and ivy vines, I saw them clearly.

Where once there were panels of glass there were now soft feathers. Where once there were gaps and magic there was now bone and muscle. His wings were the same color as his body, the individual feathers fading from purple to black, and then to silver points at the tips. From beneath they seemed so much the same as before, stars reflected on a midnight lake.

“Sable!” He didn’t even know. “You’re…”

“Shh, don’t speak.” He wasn’t listening. He scanned my wing, looking at the damage with a spell much like the one he once used to peer inside Rarity’s sewing machine. His eyes meet mine. “This is going to hurt.” I nodded and braced myself, gasping as he moved the bones back into place. Compared to what Despair did to me, it was not too much to bear. Then Sable tied the branches to my side, holding the wing immobile. I had to lean against him again as he finished, the injury bleeding away what strength I had recovered. “Do you need to lie down?” I glanced down at the ground; it was so tempting just to lie down and quit. Bile rose within me, from pain or from hate, I didn’t know or care.

“No, I need to be away from here. This place is nothing but pain and ash.” Sable nodded, and picked his mask off the ground, putting it back on.

“Pinewood Village isn’t far away. We can find medical aid and a place to rest there.” Even with the mask on his voice was perfectly clear. I had no will to argue, it was a good place to start anyways, and slowly he helped me up the dried lake’s bank. I stumbled with almost every step; my leg was so stiff and sore. “I’ve got you. It's alright now.” It really wasn’t, but it was a pure pleasure to hear him speak.

“Sable, wait. I have to stop.” Once we made the shore, now the lip of a crater, I had to sit and rest. My rear left leg wouldn’t bend properly, and I had to lie down. Sable eyed my side with some concern.

“Let me take a look at that leg.” He repeated his spell, viewing the injury done to my side. I felt his magic as a slight tingle, although it didn’t hurt.

“How much damage is there?” He shook his head.

“It’s bad, his horn went in deep. It’s a lot worse than anything I could heal. We need to get you to a real doctor.”

“Let me rest here a minute, and we can keep moving.” Sable sat beside me, just outside of reach, looking out at the dried lake. He must have been considering everything that happened down there. My personal thoughts were on the more immediate change to him. “Sable. You haven’t noticed yet, have you?” On sable’s right foreleg I saw a faint scar line, where Despair had torn it off. I looked up to see his left eye; there was a thin faint line there as well. He probably wasn’t the only one with new scars.

“That somehow we’re still alive? I think I have.” I wanted to laugh.

“Look at your wings.” It hurt to laugh, at least I could manage a smile.

“My wings? why…?” Only now did he look back, and really pay attention to his change. He flared one wing up high and stared at it. Wordlessly, dumbstruck, he opened the other, his eyes gliding over the feathers.

“You’re an Alicorn now.” For this moment whatever consequences lay ahead meant nothing. He laughed, joyful, almost childlike in his happiness. It was even better than when I first heard him laugh. But then his joy faded, it only lived a moment.

“So I get to be the first blank-flank Alicorn? What insane luck.” Now I couldn’t help myself and laughed despite the pain. He hadn’t noticed that either.

“That particular achievement is denied you.” He blinked, confused at my joke. “Come here.” He stepped up beside me, wings still wide, and I reached out to put a hoof on his flank to caress his brand new cutie-mark. “See?” His eyes opened wider as he beheld the symbol there. Tears rolled fresh down his face and dripped off his mask, joyful, not sorrowful. It was impossible to see under the silver, but I knew he was smiling, even more beautiful than his happiness at becoming an Alicorn. He had no words, needed no words. His joy reminded me of my own, those many years ago, and I looked down at my bloody side. My smile died on my face.

A few minutes later I was ready to move again. Sable walked alongside me, holding me steady with a new Alicorn wing. His body warmth was a comfort, helping fend off the coldness I felt within. There was a hollowness to me now, my magic and my mark were gone. Despair’s destruction had not restored my Cutie-mark. Was it because he ate it, swallowed it whole? Did it burn away in the magical fires that must have been consuming him? Was it because it wasn’t me that destroyed him? What about Celestia? Was her mark gone for good too? I glanced up at the grey sky and the faded horizon. The sun still hadn’t risen. What about all the others?

It took some time for us to hobble back to Pinewood Village. The walk exhausted me, my final desperate assault on Despair had burned out my stamina, probably done severe long-term damage to me. Right now, I didn’t care. We were still alive, that was enough.

“Listen? Do you hear anything?” I hadn’t been listening to my surroundings, concentrating on walking and my thoughts. There was precious little to hear when we stopped.

“No.” I could hear my own pained breath, but behind that nothing. Sable frowned, his eyes watching the trees around us. The little wooden buildings of Pinewood finally came into view, he turned us towards the local clinic first. The streets were empty; no ponies were about. “Did we forget to take out the curse?”

“No, it is gone, its work was finished. This is… something else.” I wondered what he meant, but my weakness and pain prevented me from asking. The clinic was empty, no doctor on duty. So he left me on one of the exam beds and scoured the building for better bandages and splints for my wing and leg. When he returned several minutes later, he was visibly shaken.

“What’s wrong?” He met my eyes for a moment, and I saw fear there before he looked away. In silence, he cleaned and dressed my wounds. What helped me most was the painkillers. “Sable. Please, tell me what’s wrong.”

“I know it hurts you to walk, but I need to see my family.” There was something strange in his voice. But the medicine was dulling my senses and my mind, and I couldn’t figure it out. Another minute of rest and we headed out again.

Sable guided us through the village, passing by the Alicorn statue on the way out to the little cottage. The garden had been maintained recently, the weeds pulled and the ivy removed. Probably Sable’s doing before he returned to Ponyville. Despite the recent attention the flowers were wilting. He took off his mask for a moment and looked from it to the statue. Then he shook his head and put the mask back on his own face, and we left the icon behind. I didn’t see any other pony as we walked.

It took such an agonizingly long time to finally reach the cottage. It was just as I remembered it, peaceful and quiet. So very quiet. The silence bothered me now; it shouldn’t be this still. Sable opened the gate and the front door for me.

“Mom? Dad?” No pony answered his call, a tinge of panic in his voice behind a faint hope. The fireplace was cold, full of ashes. The loom waited for Softwear to make beautiful cloth, the table full of parts for another ship in a bottle for Earl Grey to assemble. Sable set me on the couch, where I had discovered the memory curse in his parent’s minds.

Before I could ask, he’d gone away, not far. I could still hear him moving through the house, searching for his parents. Somewhere above me, I heard him cry out, and I knew now why the silence bothered me so. I had seen Earl Grey’s cutie-mark in Despair’s vortex. I shut my eyes as Sable returned slowly down the stairs, unwilling to stain the memory of his joy with what he must have been feeling now.

“I’m so sorry.” Once he had hated sympathy, no longer. He was silent for a long time; he just sat on the floor beside me. I heard him weep softly. Wordlessly I felt for him, finding his mane and the points of the lightning mask with my hoof.

“Before we go…” Voice cracked, barely audible. His hoof reached up to mine, holding my arm weakly. “I want to bury them.” I nodded, I didn’t have to say anything. He stood and walked away, going back up the stairs and returning a few moments later. I could very faintly hear the sound of a magic aura; he was carrying them outside. The front door opened, and Sable left. For the next very long time I heard the sound of shoveling dirt. I would have helped him if I could. Eventually, Sable returned, brought with him the scent of freshly dug earth. He rested beside me for a while longer. “We should go. There’s nothing here anymore.”

“Are you sure?”

“Very.” I wished I could keep my eyes shut, but I needed to see where I was walking. He led me back outside; he couldn’t bring himself to look at me. In the garden, there was a new mound of earth. He buried them together. Sable glanced to the side, and I followed his gaze towards a small cart. “We have a long way to go. This will be easier.”

It only took a few moments for him to set it up, space for me to lay and a few supplies from the house, just some food, water, blankets and pillows for me. The last thing he did was remove the front panels of the cart, so we could see and speak to each other without a barrier between us. Then Sable placed me in the vehicle, gently as he could, and put on the harness. The wheels squeaked slightly as he pulled me away from the little cottage in the valley where he lost his family all over again.

The ride was bumpy, but on my blankets and pillows, it was no great hurt to me and much less straining than walking. Now and then the cart squeaked as we ran over a bump or divot in the road. Hours and hours passed, it was impossible to tell what time it was, the light never changed, the sky stayed full of grey clouds. The air was still, there was not even wind.

“Sable.”

“Hmm?”

“We need to talk about what happened back there.” The cart slowed, although to his credit he kept moving regardless. “I still don’t understand what you said to him; you said he was you.” He spent some time to consider how to respond. His hooves on the ground and the creaking of the harness the only sounds apart from our breathing.

“Back at the friendship map, where this all started, when I stole the Amulet and tried to go back in time. It wasn’t possible, and something had to give. With all that power flowing through me, with the amulet affecting me, I think I know what happened.”

“Your spell failed, there was a backlash.”

“I know. But, something happened with all that power. My memory was split, my personality and thoughts and all that I was became two. One part of me got my real memory and my self-loathing and my sorrows and despairs. The other got my hope and my spirit, and my body I think. One of us, one of me?” He shook his head, trying to clear it. “One stayed there in Ponyville with you. The other slunk off and grew into that evil we fought. I created Despair.” Now he stopped, and I could see him look up at the clouds again. “I think part of me wanted it to happen. This is all my fault. All of it.”

“What was he even trying to do?” I couldn’t bring myself to think of Despair and Sable as the same pony. The thought was just too horrible. The Sable I knew would never have done such terrible things.

“Despair’s motivation? My memory after I was vaporized is a little fuzzy. I think Despair said it himself. He… I… gave up on life. I wanted… I needed to know, before I ended myself, if I was special.” That didn’t make any sense.

“Even if you were only special because you gave up?” He nodded. It still didn’t make much sense.

“If everypony else had faced the kind of sorrows I did, what would they do? Would they give in and quit, as I did?” He paused for another long while. I let him think, still trying to comprehend it myself. It was hard to separate which parts he called ‘himself’ were Despair and which were Stardust. “Without the Amulet, without Discord’s incredible power, my despair would have only been a threat to myself. With it?” He actually laughed at himself. “How disappointing, I became a generic doomsday villain.”

“I think I understand now.” He returned to his earlier pace, and time passed slowly. My thoughts turned to the last moments when there were only darkness and the tiny golden spark of hope. “Do you remember what happened, right at the end?”

“Not… clearly. My body was gone, I didn’t have eyes to see it with or ears to hear. But I felt it. I was there, between you two, and I knew somehow I wouldn’t let you get hurt anymore. And then they came.” I had to close my eyes, the ache in my heart returning. “I couldn’t possibly describe it, what they gave me.”

“You don’t have to. I know what it feels like.” He stopped again and looked back at me. I nodded, smiling faintly as I remembered them, and he returned the expression.

“I’m not sure how I came to _be_ again, when it was over. I think it was a gift.” He flapped his Alicorn wings, imagining there was a breeze for him to feel with them. “From your friends, from destiny.” I looked at the mark on his flank. Golden shield, Lightning wings, my six-pointed star. “From Harmony itself. I don’t know, and I don’t think I ever will.” He took off the mask, turning it over in the air before him. “Maybe… even from Despair and the Amulet.”

“You think Despair gave you back your life?”

“For all the hate and pain, in the end, he was still me. What would I do, in the same place?” He had no answer for that, and I had none for him. None I was willing to say.

The wheels creaked as the miles passed below us, at some point, we passed through other small towns but were met only by silence and quiet. The same quiet we found at Sable’s childhood home. Eventually, Sable’s physical endurance faded, he’d been pulling the cart for hours upon hours. We stopped to rest and sleep for a while somewhere on the empty road, setting a small fire to keep warm. I still had to lie down; my leg wouldn’t bend properly. Sable rested beside me, where I could lean on him. He’d thrown a blanket over us both, it helped.

“Why aren’t there any other ponies on the road?” I hadn’t been watching the whole time, maybe there were, and Sable just didn’t mention it. I could only pray that was why. Please, tell me that was why.

“I think you know.” He stared at the silver mask on the ground between us and the fire.

“Just like your parents?” He nodded, sadly. “Are we really all that’s left?”

“I don’t know. Probably. I haven’t even seen any animals.” The truth stung, as bad as a hot knife to the side, I knew that feeling intimately. There was nothing more to say. All the pain and all the exhaustion finally took hold, and I let myself sleep.

Despair glared down at me with vile lava pits, his volcanic breath on my neck. He laughed, pinning me down. I couldn’t fight back. He pressed down on me. I screamed as he impaled me.

“Twilight! I’ve got you!” Sable’s voice, Despair’s face. I tried to kick him away. Something was holding me still, I was caught in a trap. “It’s alright. It's just a nightmare.” I blinked, panting hard. “Shh. It’s not real.” The Monster in ash and fire was gone. It was a dream. I had to gasp to get my breath, shaking and crying as Sable held me. The blanket was twisted around me, pulling on my wing and leg painfully. The fire had gone out.

“Please, Sable. Tell me he’s gone.” The purple Alicorn held me tight.

“Despair, the monster. He’s gone.” He whispered in my ear. “The fire and the ash, that form is gone.” I breathed deep, listening to the sound of his voice and the truth within it. My pulse steadied, and I calmed. Sable let me back down to the ground and retrieved some of the food from the cart. I didn’t taste it, eating slowly, knowing Sable would berate me if I did not eat. Once I had finished my meal, I didn’t even pay enough attention to see what it was, Sable helped me back into the cart, and we headed slowly back north.

“You said, that form is gone.” It was some hours later; Sable was taking a short rest. “What did you mean?” His neon blue eyes behind the mask met mine, and then he tapped his chest over his heart.

“Because he’s still here. He’s a part of me.” He looked up again at the perpetually clouded sky, letting his eyes close. “Every time I look in the mirror I’ll see him there. When I stumble, when I fall, when I fail, I’ll see him in my mind once again. I’ll fight him for the rest of my life.” Then he stepped over to me and placed a hoof beside me where I could hold it. “Don’t be afraid. I’ll also beat him for the rest of my life. He’ll never win, you’ll never have to see that monster again.”

“How can you be sure?” My dream flashed in my mind, and I shuddered.

“Because.” He smiled, I could tell even through the mask. “I’m not alone anymore, and I’ve got hope.”

* * *

_“I thought you said it was almost over?”_

_“I didn’t realize how much there was left to say. I’m sorry.”_

_“Why didn’t you just teleport back?”_

_“Sable wasn’t that good with magic, and I… I couldn’t either. All my powers were gone with my Cutie-mark…”_

_“So… everything was dead? All the animals too? Even us?”_

_“As Sable said, we never met any other living thing, all the way back to Ponyville. And there this finally comes to an end.”_

* * *

It took time to get back to Ponyville. It was hard to say how long, the sky never changed from its awful clouds of grey. We ate when hungry, rested when tired, and slept when exhausted. Although I dreamed, I was not visited by Despair in my nightmares again. Over time I grew weaker, not stronger, I must have done more damage than I thought with my final attempt to defeat Despair. My leg didn’t get much better, if anything, it got stiffer. My wing ached; hopefully, the splint braced the bones so they could heal.

At last, I could see the familiar silhouette of the town of Ponyville ahead of us. Unfortunately, the city was as silent as the rest of Equestria. The trees in the park and all the flowers were wilting now. The lights were all out, the familiar sights all washed out. Was it my imagination, or were the colors of the world starting to fade away? Or maybe it was just the grey clouds overhead and the still air playing tricks on me.

Sable brought us to the doors of the castle of friendship, the purple crystal walls almost black in the weak light. After he helped me down from the cart, I glared at it, despite all the aid it provided I still hated it for being a symbol of my weakness. I really would have instead walked home under my own power if I could have.

There were supposed to be two guards out front. One disappeared before we left. The other was still there, curled up by the door. He hadn’t moved in days, and he never would again. I would think him sleeping if I didn’t know the truth. This was not the first such pony they came across. On the long road home, we found a few like him where they had been out when Despair’s curse caught them, out late at night or traveling on the road. Still, it hurt to see him.

Sable opened the door a crack and stepped inside. I tried to follow when he returned suddenly, and wrapped an arm around me and flung one of his new Alicorn wings in front of my face. All I could see were the silver tips and black feathers, it was like the night sky, and there was warmth there.

“Don’t look.” It was the same tone of voice he used after he found his parents.

“Wha-” I tried to push past him, but I didn’t have the strength, physical or emotional.

“You don’t want to see them like this.”

“That's… not fair.” Tears started to stream down my face as the pain in my chest grew stronger. “I should see them.”

“No.” He was crying too.

“Let me see them!” He gripped tighter. “Please!” I nearly wailed.

“Twilight, listen to me.” He dropped his wing, but he was so close to me that I couldn’t see past his face and mask. “I don’t want you to ever remember them like this.”

“But you saw your parents, I should see them!” It was a weak argument.

“You did.” He paused as I gasped for breath. “You saw them stand beside you, ready to save the world.” My mind flashed the image of my five friends standing beside me as shining golden spirits. “Remember them like that. Remember them as beautiful and strong and happy.” He shook his head, slowly. His eyes glanced down to the guard beside the door. “Not like this.”

“Let me see them.” I begged now, with no real power behind it except my voice. A static charge built around us as Sable embraced me again. For just an instant I saw an orange leg just inside the door before everything vanished in a flash. The thunder-crack of his teleport was so much louder than I remembered it. We appeared, standing in my bedroom. With my broken wing and my wounded leg, I would never be able to make it down the stairs. He’d taken the choice from me.

“I’m sorry.” Now I wept loudly; it wasn’t fair. “If you want to hate me for this, you can.” Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. “I accept that punishment.” I had no more words, nothing I could say. Even when he picked me up and placed me gently on my own bed, I still tried to struggle towards the door, reaching for my friends I would never see again.

Sable walked sadly away from me, but he stopped before reaching the door. He turned to my dresser and placed his silver mask upon it, next to the orrery he made for me. Then he flicked the three switches on the model and set it on the floor. The little sun and moon floated up into the air, and the room was filled with small projected stars. Then he wiped tears away and shut the door softly behind him. I didn’t hate him for it. I knew he was just trying to save me from more pain.

There was nothing to hear except my own pained breaths and Sable’s hoofsteps. I could track him through the castle just by the sounds he made. He was in the hall, then down the stairs. Another hall, the kitchen, the map room. A door opened. Now he was outside. I couldn’t hear him well enough anymore to tell what he was doing.

So I just watched the little candle lights of the sun and moon orbit, the little aurora and comet set his mask glinting. The many reflective panels on the mask’s filigree gleamed and flashed almost like real lightning. Was it a comfort now, his beautiful model? As the stars turned, I noted the accurate constellations on the opposite wall again. That night in the park came back to me. I had no idea then what my meeting with him would mean, to either of us, what would happen because of us even knowing each other.

The window wasn’t far away. I could hear him outside, faintly. Just getting there was a herculean task for me, even getting off the bed was difficult. Was my body really so weak now? I must have been wasting away by the hour. I looked up at the window shutter and sighed, not that long ago I could just have willed them open, and they would all obey my command. Now I had to struggle to get one open enough to see outside.

Sable was there on the grass not far away. He was digging shallow pits, graves; three were done already. It would have been easy for him to use his magic to open the ground, but he didn’t, he was using his hooves. He could have picked any place, anywhere I couldn’t see from any of my windows. This he was letting me see. There were no visible corpses; they must have still been inside. I had to lean against the wall as I watched. It took him a long time to dig them, all side by side. Despite the discomfort of standing for so long, I watched him do it.

Once all were dug, he looked up at my window and then disappeared for a while, walking away to find something. I heard him down in the map room; something cracked loudly as stone broke. What was he doing? He returned into view not long after, carrying great crystal slabs. I recognized them as the backs of the crystal thrones. At the head of each grave, he planted one, the marks on the crystals visible from here. On the slab with my own mark, he magically transformed it to match Starlight Glimmer’s. As Spike didn’t have a cutie-mark, he settled for carving the little dragon’s name into the headstone.

There were two more graves without headstones, adjacent to Applejack’s. Who were those for? And I remembered now that I also brought Big Mac and Apple Bloom to the castle. Here he used magic. Two stone slabs emerged from the ground, onto which he scrawled the marks for the siblings.

Here now he returned to the castle, and it took him a long time for him to come back into view to view. Each of the bodies he brought out and placed before the graves was wrapped in a sheet, I couldn’t see the corpses. One last torment, or was it a kindness? Before he set them in the graves, he returned to my side, retrieved his mask, and wordlessly carried me out to the grave site. One by one he put the dead in their places, very gently. Fluttershy was the last, and he looked sadly down at her wrapped body for a moment before filling the graves and covering them with earth.

We stood there in the silent world with nothing to say, it had all been said. It was so quiet I could even hear our tears drop to the ground. Then Sable raised his head towards the sky, and lightning reached up from his horn to the clouds high above. The thunder cut the air; I felt the rumble down to my bones. He again shot his lightning high, and the second boom was the same as the first. A third time the bolt reached high, and this time the clouds were illuminated by his neon blue glow, his salute to them echoing far into the distance. As his light hung in the air something soft and white began to fall around us.

“Is that snow?” I didn’t think my voice would sound so loud. But everything here in the quiet world seemed louder than it should.

“No. It’s ash.” I watched it fall for a moment, Sable’s magical glow illuminating the ash as it descended. It was almost pretty, but then the ash landed on the graves, and I knew there was no beauty left here. So I turned away, and Sable helped me back to my room. I could see the effort to bring me here and to dig the graves had drained him.

“Don’t go.” I called out to him as he was about to leave the room, to sleep in his own bed. He looked back to see me reaching for him. “I don’t want to be alone.” He came back to my side, drawing the blanket over me.

“I’ll be right here. You can rest now.” He remained beside me until I fell asleep.

I expected to see something in my dreams, but there was nothing. It was the kind of sleep where you close your eyes and then open them again sometime later with no sense of any time having passed. I blinked, still not rested, and spotted Sable standing in the middle of the room. Little blinking lights surrounded him, at first I thought the orrery was still going, but I didn’t recognize any of the shapes. Then Sable, his back towards me, started moving the little lights around with his hooves or with his magic. He was doing something to his mask, floating in the air before him. I closed my eyes and slept again. I dreamed now, and strangely it was of the Alicorn statue back in Pinewood, all was silent except for Sable’s voice half-heard through the fog of dreams.

“Twilight? Are you awake?” I blinked. I thought it was sometime later. Whatever Sable was doing he had finished, he was wearing the mask again.

“Sable?” My voice was weak, hopeless.

“It’s time to go.”

“Go where?”

“Time to go save the world.” His voice sounded hopeful, and I raised my head.

“How?” I pointed out the window. Ash was still falling outside. “How can we fix… this?”

“The same way I started it.” What did he mean? “Come on.” I couldn’t complain, I didn’t have the energy for it. Confused, I allowed myself to be helped down to the map room.

“I still don’t understand.” We stood beside the table. The castle felt hollow now.

“Time travel.” He tapped the map. “We can go back, stop Despair.”

“How? That spell was beyond you, and I can’t use magic anymore.”

“I failed when I tried to cast it before because I was trying to go back to a moment which never happened.” He placed an Alicorn wing over me; it was warm and comfortable. “This time is different. We can go back to before Despair attacked Tartarus, intercept him, catch him before he can cast that curse.” I looked from Sable to the table. It could work. If I were the one to cast the spell.

“Are you sure you can do this?” I met his eyes again.

“Do we have another option?” We did not. His confidence was uplifting.

“Alright. Let’s go save the world.” I took a deep breath and tried to smile, and Sable set me on the table. He joined me there, and we each threw a wing over the other. We would do this standing side by side.

Sable started his spell, closing his eyes to focus. I couldn’t feel the flow of power in the room anymore, but I could guess what he was doing. Drawing strength from his inner powers, probably more significant now that he was an Alicorn, and linking his magic to the map’s. His horn glowed, brighter, the table started to rumble. Electric charge filled the air, lightning sparked off the chandelier above. I frowned, something was wrong. Sable opened his eyes, glowing white with power.

“I can’t see it.” Words echoed with power, the air cracked. I glanced down, the edge of the table was starting to dissolve!

“Sable! Stop!” He couldn’t hear me. “The map can’t take it!”

“Where do I go?” I had to stop him now before the magic backfired on him again. But what could I do? “I don’t know where to go.” The only thing I could. It hurt my leg, straining against the pain, I pushed him off the table. The light vanished from his eyes, the magic cracked, and we both ended up on the floor. My side screamed at me and I with it, I’d landed on my broken wing. “What happened?” Sable blinked. “When are we?”

“It didn’t work.” I had to speak through new tears. “We’re trapped here.”

“No… no, it can’t be.” We both climbed back to our feet. “I saw the tunnel of light. I saw the past, all of it.” He placed one hoof on the edge of the map, and the stone crumbled away. “It was all there, but I couldn’t see where to go. I couldn’t tell where to take us.”

“So that's it?” I looked at the map myself. It had lost most of its color, and the edge was crumbling. “Look, the map doesn’t have the strength to send us. The Tree of Harmony is dying.” Silence fell on us. Sable circled the table, thinking. We were silent together for a while.

“It is a price I could pay.” I knew those words. “If that were the cost to save you.” He was looking at me now, his voice calm. I flashed back to the conversation on the way back from the Crystal Empire.

“No. Don’t do it.” It hurt, but I limped over to him.

“Twilight.” He sighed quietly. “It’s the only way.”

“No, no. We just fixed you.” My breath caught in my chest, more tears. “You’re an Alicorn now. You even got your cutie-mark.” He glanced down at the golden shield with my star on his flank before looking out the windows, his expression hardening. “I can’t ask you to give that all up.”

“Not at this cost.” He gestured to the falling ash outside. “No wings, no mark, are worth this.”

“You said you couldn’t see the way.”

“There is a point I saw clearly, like a beacon. A focal point of power, a place in time which is special to us. The moment I created the monster, Despair. I can send you to just a few moments before the spell collapses.” He glanced back at the table, frowning. “The map doesn’t have the strength left to send us both, not physically. I can even make it so you end up in your old body, you’ll have your mark back, all your power.” I nearly collapsed against him, crying. “Twilight, listen to me.” He pushed me away, looking right at me. I tried to look away, but he wouldn’t let me. “You can stop me from creating Despair in the first place.”

“You can send yourself, don’t send me.”

“I can’t go back this way. If I go back like this, I’ll have to be in my own old body, trapped within the Amulet’s influence and the spell I was already casting. If I go back, I won’t be able to stop myself; Despair will appear again, with all my new knowledge, maybe even my Alicorn Body. He would be impossible for our earlier selves to defeat him then. You have to be the one to go.” He had all the answers, didn’t he? I had no arguments left, save one last desperate plea.

“Don’t leave me.” My voice was little more than a whisper. He sighed again.

“Twilight. I’m not leaving you.” He took off his silver mask and placed it on my face. It was still warm with his body heat. “I’m here.” He placed a hoof over my heart. There was nothing left I could say. I nodded, at last letting him sacrifice himself. Some tiny part of me remembered the joke he made. “It would seem it took me to the end of Equestria to finally win one of these conversations.” It was almost funny; we were thinking the same thing. I tried to laugh, but it was hollow. Sable helped me back onto the table. I stood at its center and watched him as he prepared to send me back. “Remember, you may only have a few seconds before the spell completes. Stop me, any way you can.”

“I will.” I held my breath, for my own stability, and to avoid crying out. He gathered all his Alicorn magic, all the powers of the map, and all his hopes. This time there was only warmth and light, the air filled with color around me. Alicorn wings spread wide, the stars glittered on the midnight lake. His cutie-mark shone brightly. He never took his neon blue eyes off me. He nodded gently, one last time. “Goodbye, Sable Stardust.” The map opened beneath me.

I tumbled through the conduit of light and color, alone…

* * *

“Then I landed back here, in my younger and healthy body. Sable was over the map.” I glanced at the Alicorn Amulet, in the middle of the table. “And I stopped him from casting the spell that would have created Despair.” I sigh, it’s taken a long time to finally get back to where it began. “So now you know the story.” I look down at my hooves, shaking.

“That’s a bit anti-climactic. It’s just… over?” Rainbow Dash was apparently hoping for something a bit more explosive for a finale. “So, we won? I’m confused.”

“Do we have to keep an eye out for Despair now?” Applejack scratches her head, almost as lost as Rainbow Dash.

“Despair doesn’t exist. He never existed.” Starlight Glimmer understands and explains. “It never happened in the first place.”

“Yes, it did. Twilight remembers it, and that makes it real.” Thank you, Fluttershy. I smile at my yellow friend.

“I guess, from your perspective, it’s an insane story.”

“It is a bit hard to swallow, Dear. But I believe you.” Rarity nods deeply towards me.

“What do we do with the Amulet now?”

“Now that I know the spell that was used to find it, we can put better security on it. Maybe I’ll have it buried with the changeling throne. It’s safe here, for the time being.” I know, for a fact, that there isn’t anypony coming for it anytime soon.

“Twilight, are you going to be alright?” Spike puts a claw on my arm. He saw me shaking.

“It may be a while, but I’ll be fine.” I patted his hand. “Although I may need Luna’s help dealing with some new nightmares.”

“Well, I can’t help with that, but I can lift your spirits!” Pinkie jumps from her seat. “Everypony follow me! It’s time to party!” I let myself laugh as we all stand and start to head out of the map room. In her haste Pinkie isn’t watching where she is going, she suddenly slips and falls. Something silver glints as it skitters across the floor. “Woo! I’m OK!” The pink Pony leaps back to her feet, laughing afresh.

I, however, go over to see the object Pinkie has slipped on. It’s a silver mask with Lightning filigree, Sable’s silver mask. I hadn’t seen it when I arrived; I thought it hadn’t made the journey back with me. Gingerly I pick it up; it’s not damaged by Pinkie having stepped on it. I fight back the tears, holding it against my heart.

“Something wrong, Twilight?” Fluttershy steps up beside me, concern evident on her face.

“You can all go ahead, get the party started. I’ll be there in a while. I have… one last thing I need to do.” I turn towards all my friends, alive and well, beautiful and strong and happy. Everypony is here, except one. “I need to go see Sable Stardust.”

* * *

Slowly, and alone, as I did those months ago, I approach Sable’s hovel. I have to remind myself that it was only a few days, not months. As I come closer, I can first make out the charred remains of the willow out front before I see the burned out shell of his hovel. I had expected to find the cathedral tree here, but of course, it doesn’t exist yet.

Sable’s hovel is ruined; its four walls all wrecked and twisted, only this morning, by my actions. The roof has once again been hurled into the hillside. Out front, the door has been set up as a makeshift table, covered in the salvaged objects pulled from the ruins. How odd, that hadn’t happened yet. Then I realize Sable has been here for some hours, as I told my story to the others. I almost chuckle, he's repeating the actions we all took together.

I know where to find Sable, and step around to the back, where the garden had been. He’s there, sitting by the pond. The blue ceramic bowl with the crack down the side balanced on a hoof as he inspects it. For the first time, I take a long look at his coat, it's old and ragged, torn in some places. It matches him perfectly. I drop my saddlebag by the hovel’s wall.

“Sable.” I speak calmly. He glances my way. I don’t know what I thought I would see; resignation was not it. He takes a long deep breath and flings the bowl into the water. Then he stands and faces me.

“Fine. Do it.” What does he mean? “Turn me to stone, send me to Tartarus. I don’t care. It doesn’t matter.” He still can’t bring himself to meet my eyes.

“Sable…” Even I can hear the sadness in my voice.

“Get it over with.” He scowls, holding back tears. This version of Sable is more restrained than the one I know… knew.

“I’m not going to punish you.” He blinks, utterly bewildered.

“What? Why?”

“Because…” I want to step up beside him, but I know he will back away. So I settle for standing nearby, at the water’s edge. “I know what you’ve lost.” My ears droop, and I watch my reflection in the pond’s surface. The water is murky, my visage distorted.

“That was my only chance to get them all back.” Anger seeps into his voice. “And you took it from me.”

“I’m sorry… But I couldn’t-”

“You’ve killed them all over again.” His voice hardens into Despair’s. New tears come to my eyes, and I can’t stop them, they drip off my face and into the water.

“I had to stop you.” With a hoof, I wipe my eyes clear. “You didn’t know what you were about to do.”

“I know exactly what I was doing. I know I couldn’t manage the magic on my own. The Alicorn Amulet would have given me the power and the ability to control it. I planned to remove it the moment the spell was done. I wasn’t going to let it control me.”

“Sable, listen to me.” I turn to face him now. He’s standing close by, visibly struggling to control his anger. I know if I continue down this path it will only drive us to conflict. With a heavy sigh, I change course. “You once asked if I knew what failure felt like.” He blinks, not expecting this response. “I didn’t then.” I choke back more tears. He eyes me carefully, studying me.

“Now you do.” His voice drops to a quiet tone, always so perceptive. I nod.

“I lost a… very dear friend today.” His face is more than I can bear, I have to look away. “I don’t think I’ll ever see him again.” Admitting it aloud hurts almost as much as when Despair impaled me.

“You can’t possibly be referring to me.” Of his own free will he steps up beside me, I can see his reflection alongside mine in the water. “We were never that close.”

“You don’t even know. It’s not fair.” Sadly I shake my head. “It should have been you to come back.”

“What… you can’t mean…” Has he already figured it out? “What did I do?” The sheer heartbreak in his voice almost breaks me too.

“Your spell failed.” He starts to shake, as he did when we first found his family. “The consequences almost destroyed Equestria.”

“No… no… It was supposed to save them. Nopony was supposed to die because of me.”

“You had to send me back, to stop you.”

“That’s… impossible. I had it all figured out.”

“There was a factor you were unaware of.” I look back to the house and my saddlebag. Using my magic, I remove the silver mask from the bag, the face of hope, and bring it over to me. Sable eyes it carefully as it passes before him and into my arms.

“Where did you get that?”

“It’s a gift. I know it will hurt, but you need to know the truth.” I make to put the mask on him, but he backs away. “Please, Sable. I couldn’t save you then, let me save you now. Let me help you save your family.” He blinks in confusion, stunned for a moment. It’s the only moment I need, and I slip the mask over his face. “I’m sorry.”

He stumbles back, reaching for the mask as it begins to glow, trying to remove it. The mask refuses to let him go. One hoof falls into the pond, and he stumbles; I right him with magic as he nearly falls over, and I set him where his garden had been. His eyes flare with light, and he freezes in place. I can’t watch and have to shut my eyes. For several long moments, he sits there in silence.

“Twilight Sparkle.” His voice is surprisingly calm. I open my eyes and turn to face him. He stands there, just in front of me, in all his restored glory. My Sable Stardust. His mane has the streaks of gold and silver. Alicorn wings spread wide, the feathers glittering like the night sky. His gold and silver cutie-mark visible on his flank.

“Sable!” I rush to embrace him. But my arms fall through his body, and I almost fall to the dirt.

“If you are seeing this message, then my fears have come to pass.” It’s an illusion. Looking again, I can see the physical Sable still where he was last, face raised and eyes open full with light emanating from them.

“No… no, please.”

“I am sorry.” The illusion sighs. “You will have questions. I will try to answer as many as I can guess.” Alicorn Sable sits, in nearly the same stance as the physical one. “I know you will give the mask to Sable, to me. You think it will restore my memory of my family.” He’s right, that is what I am doing. “I hate to tell you this, but it won’t work. I don’t think you will have noticed, but it’s not the same mask.” I blink, and my heart drops. Alicorn Sable taps his head, over his right eye. “My original mask has no left eye socket, and the right one is damaged. This one, which you have now given to me, it was created by the magic that restored my body, using the Alicorn Amulet as material.”

“Then what is happening?” Alicorn Sable doesn’t answer my question. He glances around, out the windows of my room which I cannot see through the illusion. He looks forward with confidence, and I place myself where I can imagine him looking at me.

“This world is dead. I can see that now, so can you. I suspect the map no longer has the strength to send us both back.” I have to choke back more tears; this is no time for sorrow. I want to hear Sable’s final message clearly. “I think you’ve noticed; your body is failing. I don’t think you will last more than a few more days, for whatever counts as a day here in this ashen place. If I don’t send you back into a healthy body, you will die. I cannot let that happen.”

“You didn’t.” I smile, even though I know he cannot hear or see me.

“I’ll go with you, if I can, and you will never see this message. I’ll be able to say this all in person. I don’t know what will happen to this horrible place when you stop Despair. Maybe it will continue to exist, and maybe I’ll be stuck here for the rest of my life. If that’s true, I will search it.” Alicorn Sable smiles. “Who knows, maybe the Crystal Empire survived. Maybe the curse only affected Equestria; there are still lands far to the south and across the seas. There may still be sources of power I can use to return to you.” But his smile fades. “Most likely it will cease to have ever existed, and I’ll be nothing but a memory. I won’t say, ‘don’t cry for me.’ I want you to remember me. I want you to remember my orrery, my drawings, all the little things which brought you a smile.”

“I will.”

“I suppose I am only delaying the inevitable.” Alicorn Sable sighs again. “I am sorry. For so much. For all the pain I’ve caused you, that I’m still causing you. For all the trouble and hassle of taking care of me. Of course, for creating Despair.” He pauses for a few moments. “I know it’s not fair to ask this of you, but I want you to apologize for me. To Pinkie Pie, for always being angry with her. To Rainbow Dash, for calling her names. To Rarity and Applejack and Starlight Glimmer and everypony else. Especially Fluttershy, for all her sweet kindness towards me, I never got the chance to thank her properly.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll tell them all.” Now the Alicorn Sable laughs briefly.

“I also want to apologize to the Cutie Mark Crusaders as well, although I imagine in your new timeline we will never have met. Such a shame too, I just figured out how to safely give Scootaloo wings like mine.” He glances down at his Alicorn wings. “Well, maybe not as they are now, you know what I mean.” I giggle quietly. He takes a deep breath and looks back over his shoulder, to where I would have been sleeping. “I suppose that’s all I want to say.” He blinks slowly before returning his gaze forward. “But… that’s not true.”

“What then? Don’t keep any more secrets, please.” He takes several deep breaths, I know when he is steadying himself for something challenging to say.

“I love you, Twilight Sparkle.” He smiles, honestly and softly. It’s my turn to blink in confusion. I didn’t know. I didn’t see it. The others could tell, even as I told them the story, they could see it. Looking back, even Cadence could see it. It all makes sense now. “I finally said it. It’s why I could do those things; at the Crystal Empire, to stand before Despair, to save you with everypony’s power. And even now, sacrificing myself because I love you. It’s what my cutie-mark means.” He laughs at himself, tears flowing down his face. “It’s not fair.” He wipes them away. I can see his wings shaking; if they were still glass, they would be chiming. “I thought I was ready to go. But I’m not.” He looks up at the sky he can’t see, tear-streaks still wet. “Ah, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I can’t do it; I can’t leave you.” He looks forward again, where I am sitting and listening. “So I’m going to have to ask you for one more apology.”

“Anything.” I let my tears flow freely now as well.

“I want you to apologize to me. To Sable Stardust. Because I’m doing it again. I’m recreating that spell I cast on Pinewood.”

“What?” I say it aloud, dumbfounded.

“I’ve been stalling this whole time. As I speak, my silver mask is re-writing my memories. Installing myself as I am now into the body I was. By now it should all be done.” I pull myself away from the image and stare at the physical Sable. He knew I wouldn’t interfere with the message. “If this works, then I’ll be there with you again.” Still, the illusion of the Alicorn remains. “If it doesn’t, then I guess I never existed. All I’ve got now is hope.” He smiles warmly, and nods, that same familiar and loving bow. “I suppose that will have to be enough. Goodbye, Twilight Sparkle.”

The illusion blips out of existence. The light fades from Sable’s neon blue eyes as he brings them to meet mine. Ten thousand thoughts race through my mind; I don’t know what to say. Which Sable Stardust is here with me now?

Slowly, with trembling hooves, he reaches up and removes his mask…


End file.
